Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (CMO,
Cooperating with Kodak, "CMO and Chi Mei EL Corp [CMEL,
CMEL, a fully-owned affiliate of Chi Mei that was established in 2004, makes flat panels using organic light emitting diode technology (OLED). Chi Mei makes thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-display (TFT-LCD) computer and TV panels.
Chi Mei shares dropped 0.53 percent to NT$37.6 yesterday, better than the 0.69 percent loss of the benchmark TAIEX index. The stocks of bigger rival AU Optronics Corp (
Under the agreement, CMEL will be allowed to use patents held by Kodak on Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode (AMOLED) technologies to make slim screens for use in mobile phones, digital cameras and other portable devices.
AMOLED displays several benefits over conventional displays such as higher contrast, faster response time, blur-free video motion, 180-degree viewing angle, thinner design and potentially lower manufacturing costs.
AMOLED displays will become one of the fastest growing segments in LCD industry as sales are expected to grow six fold to US$1.4 billion next year from US$200 million this year, market researcher DisplaySearch said, as more applications hit the market.
A big chunk, about 90 percent, of AMOLED displays are used for handsets, according to the Texas-based researcher.
"As AMOLED is much slimmer [than displays such as TFT-LCD screens], they are increasingly used for high-end and ultra-slim mobile phones," DisplaySearch analyst David Hsieh (
Start-up CMEL ramped up its first production line in the first quarter of this year. The company makes AMOLED 2-inch and 2.8-inch panels, mostly for portable devices.
It hopes to make bigger panels in the future.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce