Compal Electronics Inc (
The ultimate goal on the diversification plan to move half of its production to new plants in Vietnam -- which looks set to overtake China as the world's workshop -- in the next five to six years, said Chang Chih-ming (張志銘), head of investor relations at Compal.
The Chinese factories would manufacture half of the laptop computers ordered by customers, Chang said.
"We are diversifying our production sites to cope with customers' needs and to manage operation risks. We are also taking into consideration China's new labor rule," Chang said. "We are not exiting the Chinese market."
The new labor rule, which took effect on Jan 1, will lead to a rise in payroll costs of about 20 percent, Chang said, citing Compal president Ray Chen (
Companies in China are now required to pay pension and insurance to employees signing long-term contracts as well as severance pay, something they did not have to do before.
Rising costs in China will add pressure to falling gross margins, which are now about 5 percent for computer makers, the Chinese-language Commercial Times said, adding that Quanta Computer Inc (
Compal, which is building its first plant in Vietnam, plans to start the plant's pilot run by the end of this year and launch production in the first quarter of next year, Chang said.
The Vietnamese plant will have a maximum monthly production of 1 million units, but Compal plans to produce just 200,000 to 300,000 laptops a month at first, Chang said. The company would gradually increase volume based on customer demand, he said.
Compal hopes to ship 40 percent more notebook computers this year than last year, for a total of 32 million.
Compal shares fell 0.91 percent to NT$27.35 yesterday, underperforming larger rival Quanta and the TAIEX, which rose 1.16 percent and 0.18 percent respectively.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
At least US$50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: That is the king’s ransom paid two weeks ago to militants linked to al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law. Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of “economic jihad.” Its goal: Oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali’s decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralyzing the west African country’s economy.
RE100 INITIATIVE: Exporters need sufficient supplies of renewable energy to meet their global commitments and remain competitive, the economics ministry said Local export-oriented manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), require sufficient supplies of green energy to maintain their competitiveness and regulations already ensure that renewable energy development adheres to environmental protection principles, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, as the legislature imposed further restrictions on solar panel installations. The opposition-led Legislative Yuan yesterday passed third readings to proposed amendments to three acts — the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) and the Geology Act (地質法) — which would largely prohibit the construction of solar panels in some areas. The amendments stipulate that ground-mounted solar
RSS