Taipei Times (TT): Taiwanese tech companies have recently found themselves engaging in what have been called “patent wars,” and their business operations could be undermined if they fail to handle related lawsuits properly. How should Taiwanese firms tackle those challenges? [Editor’s note: HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s No. 5 smartphone brand, is being sued by Apple Inc for allegedly violating its patents. HTC may face an injunction and cannot sell its smartphones in the US if it loses the lawsuit.]
Stan Shih (施振榮): If you ask whether Taiwanese enterprises will be affected by the rising New Taiwan dollars or weakening US economy, then the answer is an emphatic “Yes.” These external factors will be a blow to Taiwanese firms, but I think they should “welcome” the challenge.
Challenges are part and parcel of life, and tackling them is what adds meaning to life. We have to stay positive and think about how we should stand up to those predicaments we encounter in life. Taiwanese firms have to be “physically fit” to compete in the world of business. Nowadays, competition in the market is “dynamic,” meaning you simply can’t tell what tactics your rivals might engage in to defeat you.
However, if you are fit and agile, then you can work out solutions to resolve the issues.
The history of Taiwanese firms in patent acquisition is much shorter [than their European and US peers,] and therefore we have not invested many resources in this area.
Patents are accumulated over the years and if you look at what we have accomplished so far, Taiwan is actually securing far more patents than it used to.
TT: The government-funded Taiwan Medtech Fund was recently set up as a venture capital firm investing in the biotech industry. The fund has commissioned the venture capital firm that you chair — iD SoftCapital Inc (智融集團) — as a consultant. What is iD SoftCapital’s role in that relationship?
Shih: Venture capitalists don’t compete with each other, we cooperate. iD SoftCapital has branches in the US and Taiwan and we will consider investing with Taiwan MedTech Fund whenever we see a reasonable opportunity to do so. We hope to bring those technologies to Taiwan — not only for manufacturing, but also research and development as well as commercialization.
There is a huge market here in Asia, and Taiwan could be the hub to make things happen. These products may eventually end up being produced in China, but Taiwan will enjoy a lead in biotechnology and sell those products to the Chinese market.
I retired when I was 60, so I am no longer in charge of Acer Group’s day-to-day operations. There are far too many trends to watch out for and I now have the time to manage my venture capital firm. We are investing in biotech, electric vehicles and even the arts. We need to reflect on our past experiences and pave the way for the future based on those experiences.
TT: One of Acer Group’s spin offs, BenQ (明基), is running hospitals in Nanjing and Suzhou, China. What is your take on the biotech and medical care industries? How could Taiwan position itself to take advantage of these trends?
Shih: I have recently thought a lot about Taiwanese virtues. In a nutshell, I would say that they are to be found in how much we contribute to the world. Taiwan’s achievement in ICT [information and communications technology] is a fact and the success of many US firms would not have been possible without us.
Unfortunately, few people knew about our contribution. For instance, it is not widely known that Taiwanese companies play a key role in the production of Apple’s gadgets.
[Taiwanese firms such as Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Wintek Corp (勝華) either supply -components to or assemble iPads, iPods or iPhones.]
After ICT, Taiwan needs to find its next core strength — and biotech could be it. We need to find new competitiveness and leverage it with our existing strengths, then Taiwan will have a bigger influence in the world.
China has been paying attention to the healthcare industry and judging from the size of its population, the market potential is huge.
At the end of the day, head count matters in medical care. It is not just about medical equipment, Taiwan has experience in healthcare services and it would be faster to apply our experience to China rather than China introducing approaches used in the US and Europe.
With warming cross-strait ties after the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), Taiwan and China could forge a Chinese-language medicare brandname and contribute to global healthcare.
When there is a huge market, there is always the possibility of innovation and with innovation comes a worldwide brandname. Biotech offers us the perfect opportunity to enhance our core competence.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
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