Taiwan is expected to become the world’s No. 2 supplier of silicon solar cells this year, benefiting from increased manufacturing orders from European customers and recovering demand for solar cells, a Taipei-based research firm said yesterday.
This year, shipments of Taiwanese silicon solar cells, led by Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), may grow 1.6 times from last year to 1.78 gigawatts, Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) predicted.
Last year, Taiwan ranked No. 4 among the world’s silicon solar cell suppliers with a 12 percent market share. Taiwanese companies now have a chance to overtake Japan, or Germany, the world’s No. 2 and No. 3 silicon solar cell exporters respectively this year, MIC forecast.
“A sharp decline in the average selling price during the financial crisis drove costs higher for European cell makers, who are now under increasing pressure to farm out production to Asian manufacturers,” said MIC analyst Sean Kao (高鴻祥) in a report released yesterday.
“And Taiwanese solar cell makers, who have the advantage of quality and pricing [over rivals], are greatly expanding capacity to cope with [rising orders],” Kao said.
The global solar market is expected to grow quickly and solar panel builders may see an increase in purchases as countries such as Italy, France, the Czech Republic and the US follow Germany’s lead and announce subsidies, Kao said.
Governments in Japan and China have also started to provide subsidies for solar panels, further increasing demand, he added.
There are also more large-scale electronics makers entering the market, which is facilitating the development of the nation’s solar power industry, he said.
Companies such as flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), power supply device maker Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) and the world’s top contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are entering the market by establishing new companies or through investing in existing players.
With a cash injection from the nation’s largest electronics companies this year, Taiwan’s solar cell makers will be able to enhance their competitiveness by improving manufacturing capabilities, global logistic systems and brand equity, enabling them to compete with Chinese rivals, Kao said.
Motech is setting an example after they obtained an NT$6.2 billion capital infusion from TSMC, which helped them to catch up with rival Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) this year.
Shares of Gintech and Motech soared 5.9 percent and 1.93 percent to end at NT$91.5 and NT$100.5 respectively, yesterday, out-performing the benchmark TAIEX, which gained 1.06 percent.
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
SKEPTICAL: An economist said it is possible US and Chinese officials would walk away from the meeting saying talks were productive, without reducing tariffs at all US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks yesterday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early yesterday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.” The second day of closed-door meetings between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) were due to restart yesterday morning, said a person familiar
RSS