Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (
However, the company denied a report in the Chinese-language Economic Daily News that it had teamed up with BES Engineering Corp (
Citing unnamed company officials, the report said that under the alliance, Gintech would supply photovoltaic cell products, while Solaria would assemble the cells and BES construct the plant.
"Bidding for the solar power plant is one of the strategies under consideration," Gintech said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
"However, we have not formed an alliance with any contractor so far," the company said.
Demand for solar power plants is strong and Gintech, aided by sufficient supply from US silicon wafer producer MEMC Electronic Materials Inc, is a popular supplier for the plants, the report said.
The market for solar power is estimated to hit US$5.2 trillion after 2012, when costs of generating electricity through solar power will have dropped significantly from current levels, the report said, citing anonymous officials at Gintech.
Founded in August 2005 with light-emitting-diode manufacturer Everlight Electronics Co (
Gintech has an annual capacity of 60 megawatts and is expected to add another 480 megawatts after its plant at the Hsinchu Science Park is completed by the end of the year.
The company debuted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange last Friday and outpaced its peers to become the highest-priced solar cell stock in the local market.
Shares of Gintech slid 1.23 percent to close at NT$400 (US$12.35) yesterday, while those of its larger rival, Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), were unchanged at NT$335, and E-ton Solar Tech Co's (益通光能) edged down 1.62 percent to NT$364.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an