ONLINE GAMES
Gamania losses down
Gamania Digital Entertainment Co (遊戲橘子), a developer and host of online interactive titles, yesterday said its losss narrowed to NT$25 million (US$830,000) last month, compared with loss of NT$82 million in the same period of 2012. The company lost a total of NT$58 million in November and December last year, an improvement from losses of NT$118 million in the corresponding period of 2012, according to a company statement filed to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Gamania shares, traded on the GRETAI Securities Market, rallied 2.97 percent yesterday. Revenue jumped 24 percent to NT$755 million last month, from NT$610 million a year ago.
PETROCHEMICALS
LCY plans R&D building
LCY Group (李長榮集團), which operates petrochemical product maker LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學), plans to invest NT$2.2 billion (US$70 million) in Greater Kaohsiung to build a research and development (R&D) center to enhance the group’s capabilities, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. LCY plans to hire 500 R&D workers for the center. The center is to be built in two phases. The group plans to build a seven floor R&D building in the first phase. The construction is set to be completed by the end of next month, with operations starting in April. The second phase of R&D construction is scheduled to begin in January next year.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks