United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) CEO Sun Shih-wei (孫世偉) yesterday said the company remained upbeat about the global semiconductor industry’s medium to long-term prospects.
However, the global chip industry could encounter some volatility in the second half of this year because of soaring inflation in emerging economies and the debt crisis in Europe, Sun said.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Sun said the global semiconductor sector had also felt the pinch from the effects of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, which disrupted the supply chain.
Last week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said the global IC industry was growing at a slower pace than the market had expected six months ago.
In April, Chang lowered his growth forecast for global semiconductors — except for memory chips — to 4 percent this year from his prior forecast of 7 percent growth.
UMC is positive about its business in the medium to long term and has secured more orders and expanded business ties in select markets, Sun said.
To meet future growth demand, Sun said UMC would continue to expand its production capacity, adding that the company’s capital expenditure this year would total US$1.8 billion.
UMC is expected to begin a trial production of chips using advanced 28 nanometer process technology in the third quarter.
The new products will be used in optoelectronics and control devices, Sun said.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”