CHIPMAKERS
ITC initiates Spansion case
Local memorychip maker Macronix International Co Ltd (旺宏電子) yesterday said that the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has initiated a patent infringement investigation into Spansion and certain customers of Spansion. The ITC’s move came after Macronix filed complaints last month saying that Spansion has infringed on its patents, and that some of its customers, including Beats Electronics LLC, have used problematic chips in their products. Macronix also requested the ITC to ban the sales and imports of Spansion’s infringing products, or any products containing those problematic chips to the US.
TELECOMS
Veteran to head Hon Hai
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the main manufacturer of Apple Inc products, said yesterday it has hired telecom veteran Lu Shyue-ching (呂學錦) to head its information and communication technology development center. Lu, who resigned in April last year as chairman of Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan’s largest telecom, is expected to complete Hon Hai’s cloud-based multiscreen strategy, the company said in a statement. Chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said Lu’s work will contribute to the firm’s plan to offer a wider range of technology services, according to the statement. Hon Hai said its center will foster the required technologies, patents and talent for the next generation of Web-based communication products.
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
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last