Business Briefs

■ PixArt inks deal with Avago

Chip image sensor maker PixArt Imaging Inc (原相科技) said yesterday that it had signed a patent cross-licensing agreement with Avago Technologies.

US-based Avago is the world's largest privately held semiconductor company.

Under the pact, each party will be granted a license to access each other's patents and patent applications related to optical mice, according to a press release.

There will be no legal claims or actions based on the licensed patents in the future, PixArt said.

"To focus research and development resources effectively and prevent disputes from arising from patent litigation, PixArt chooses to exchange patent licenses with the product's pioneer," PixArt chief executive Sen Huang (黃森煌) said in the statement.

■ VoIP products multiplying

Manufacturers in the Greater China region are expected to produce 29 million Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) products this year, Global Sources Ltd said yesterday.

VoIP product exports are estimated to hit 22.66 million units, an increase of 14 percent over last year, said the US-based business-to-business media company.

The company said telephony solutions are expected to drive growth in the worldwide VoIP market, with shipments this year increasing 52 percent year-on-year.

Global Sources said buyers sourcing VoIP products from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China can expect a growing yet dynamic supply market in the coming year.

Taiwan, in particular, leads product development and production in the region with VoIP gateways, phones, terminal adaptors and routers, according to Global Sources.

■ Quanta shares drop again

Shares of Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), the world's largest notebook maker, continued to drop for a second day after a report said it had lost a major global positioning system (GPS) client. Shares closed down 2.22 percent at NT$46.25 (US$1.42) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday, following a decline of 1.25 percent a day earlier.

The Chinese-language Commercial Times reported on Thursday that Quanta would lose orders from its only GPS client TomTom NV, Europe's largest maker of car-navigation equipment.

The two companies denied the report, and the Dutch company said it will continue a supply agreement with Quanta for some of the models in its Go product range, a portable device for cars and other vehicles with a touch-screen display using the satellite navigation system to determine location.

■ Baidu closes enterprise unit

Baidu.com Inc (百度), China's most-used Internet search engine, shut its enterprise software business to focus on increasing services.

Baidu laid off about 30 people based in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen after closing the division that develops search software for other companies on July 10, Cynthia He, a spokeswoman for the Beijing-based company, said yesterday. Sales of enterprise software contributed an "immaterial" part to Baidu's operations, He said.

The move will help Baidu focus on its core business to keep its lead over Yahoo! Inc and Google Inc.

■ Taishin to auction bad loans

Taishin Financial Holdings Co (台新金控) said its banking unit plans to auction as much as NT$15 billion (US$459 million) of bad loans. The lender, Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), hasn't decided whether to hold one auction or several, the Taipei-based parent company said in a statement issued late on Thursday.