Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (CMO, 奇美電子), the country’s second-largest supplier of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels, could extend a production cut plan into next month as dwindling demand drives prices down further.
The Tainan-based company told investors in July it would lower equipment loading by 20 percent last month and by another 15 percent this month as customers pile up excessive inventory after demand dipped unexpectedly, leading to a drastic decline in prices.
“The likelihood of resuming full loading of equipment is slim,” CMO spokesman Denis Chen (陳世賢) said by telephone.
The remarks came after LG Display Co Ltd trimmed its third-quarter outlook yesterday on weaker-than-expected demand. The price of LCD panels has dropped faster than expected because of the sluggish global economy, LG Display said.
Shipments by area could increase about 15 percent this quarter from the second quarter, rather than in the low twenties as estimated early July, a company statement said.
The average selling price per square meter could decline by a high teen percentage quarter-on-quarter, compared with a drop in the low teens as previously forecast, the South Korean company said.
Early this month, LG Display, the world’s second-largest LCD maker, said it would extend a reduction in flat-panel production, citing uncertain recovery in demand.
As TV and PC makers continue to digest inventory, the price for computer panels could drop by 5 percent to 8 percent this month from the previous month, Taipei-based market researcher WitsView said yesterday.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last