High Tech Computer Corp's (HTC,
HTC's share price yesterday dropped 6.97 percent to NT$828 (US$25.49) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, bringing the decline to about 20 percent since the company said it planned to buy local handset vendor Dopod International Corp (
The move by the world's biggest maker of phones operating on Microsoft Corp's system goes against a growing trend in the industry, where phone makers are splitting their brand and contract manufacturing businesses to help ease customers' concern. Acer Inc, for instance, spun off its design and contract manufacturing and set up Wistron Corp (
"Investors sold their shares as they were worried that HTC may have a conflict of interest with its customers if it aggressively pursues own-brand development," said Lu Chia-lin (
Pushing one step forward into the brand business, High Tech Computer, which supplies phones to mobile service carriers like Vodafone Group and NTT DoCoMo Inc, unveiled its first batch of phones under the "HTC" brand in London on Thursday.
"As long as the company continues to prioritize its carrier customers, which the management stressed, we see no conflict," said Dominic Grant, an analyst with research house Macquarie, in a report issued yesterday.
Taking a more cautious stance, Vincent Chen (
Boosting its own-brand operations would mean rising sales, marketing and research and development expenses, Chen said.
Chen added that the "Dopod acquisition seems a bit redundant," as market leaders Nokia and Motorola have only one brand name.
Chen lowered his earnings forecast for HTC this year by around 10 percent to reflect the potential impact from the company's branding strategy after the Dopod deal was announced.
Chen forecast that the company would earn NT$26.68 billion, or NT$74.7 per share this year, down from his earlier estimates of NT$29.71 billion, or NT$83.2 a share. He retained a "buy" rating on HTC, but cut the 12-month price target to NT$1,326 from NT$1,782.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks