TSMC board passes capex plan
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s top contract chipmaker, yesterday said its board of directors has approved a capital appropriation of US$3.05 billion, mainly for expansion of advanced capacity.
The board also approved a proposal to inject US$2 billion into wholly owned subsidiary TSMC Global Ltd to reduce its foreign-exchange hedging costs.
In addition, the board gave the go-ahead to the promotion of general counsel Sylvia Fan (方淑華) and director of human resources Connie Ma (馬慧凡) as company vice presidents.
Acer unveils newest laptop
PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday unveiled the world’s first Chromebook laptop powered by a mobile chipset from Nvidia Corp to expand its line of Web-centric computers.
The Acer Chromebook 13 will start shipping later this month and will be available in European, North American and Asia-Pacific markets with a starting price of US$279, the company said in a press release.
The company posted its latest sales results on Monday, with consolidated revenue declining 31.29 percent sequentially to NT$25.11 billion (US$835.3 million) last month due to inventory adjustment. On an annual basis, consolidated sales last month were down 12.05 percent. Cumulative sales in the first seven months of the year totaled NT$183.19 billion, down 12.71 percent from a year earlier, the company said.
Formosa Plastics to sell shares
Formosa Plastics Corp (FPC, 台塑), the nation’s largest producer of polyvinyl chloride, said on Monday that it plans to sell about 42.5 million shares of Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC, 台塑化) by the end of this year.
Based on Formosa Petrochemical’s closing price of NT$73.7 on Monday in Taipei, Formosa Plastics would generate an income of NT$3.13 billion from selling its holding in the nation’s only listed oil refiner.
The company’s announcement followed those made by Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台化), which produces aromatics and styrenics, and Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), the nation’s largest plastics maker. Together, they plan to sell a total of 1.5 percent of Formosa Petrochemical’s shares by the end of this year, reducing their shareholding in the company to about 75 percent.
LCY stock stabilizing: dealers
Shares of LCY Chemical Corp (李長榮化學) showed signs of stabilizing yesterday after plunging for seven straight sessions because of its potential liability for the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung on July 31 and Aug. 1.
The stock fell 0.66 percent to close at NT$15.05 in Taipei trading. Before yesterday, it had fallen by the maximum daily limit of 7 percent for seven consecutive sessions, driving the stock’s value down almost 40 percent since the blasts.
The stock is likely to consolidate until the chemical company’s legal and financial responsibilities from the blasts become clearer, dealers said.
Ministry picks TAITRA head
The Ministry of Economic Affairs on Monday appointed Francis Liang (梁國新), an adviser to the Cabinet, to serve as chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), replacing Wang Chih-kang (王志剛), who has led the trade promotion body for the past six years.
The appointment of the 63-year-old Liang, a former deputy minister of economic affairs, will be discussed at TAITRA’s next board meeting, the ministry said in a statement.
Wang, 72, “has completed his mission,” the statement said, praising him for lifting the image of Taiwanese products.
ELECTRONICS BOOST: A predicted surge in exports would likely be driven by ICT products, exports of which have soared 84.7 percent from a year earlier, DBS said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 4 percent from 3 percent, citing robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports and accelerated shipment activity, which are expected to offset potential headwinds from US tariffs. “Our GDP growth forecast for 2025 is revised up to 4 percent from 3 percent to reflect front-loaded exports and strong AI demand,” Singapore-based DBS senior economist Ma Tieying (馬鐵英) said in an online briefing. Taiwan’s second-quarter performance beat expectations, with GDP growth likely surpassing 5 percent, driven by a 34.1 percent year-on-year increase in exports, Ma said, citing government
SMART MANUFACTURING: The company aims to have its production close to the market end, but attracting investment is still a challenge, the firm’s president said Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said its long-term global production plan would stay unchanged amid geopolitical and tariff policy uncertainties, citing its diversified global deployment. With operations in Taiwan, Thailand, China, India, Europe and the US, Delta follows a “produce at the market end” strategy and bases its production on customer demand, with major site plans unchanged, Delta president Simon Chang (張訓海) said on the sidelines of a company event yesterday. Thailand would remain Delta’s second headquarters, as stated in its first-quarter earnings conference, with its plant there adopting a full smart manufacturing system, Chang said. Thailand is the firm’s second-largest overseas
‘REMARKABLE SHOWING’: The economy likely grew 5 percent in the first half of the year, although it would likely taper off significantly, TIER economist Gordon Sun said The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) yesterday raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.02 percent, citing robust export-driven expansion in the first half that is likely to give way to a notable slowdown later in the year as the front-loading of global shipments fades. The revised projection marks an upward adjustment of 0.11 percentage points from April’s estimate, driven by a surge in exports and corporate inventory buildup ahead of possible US tariff hikes, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy likely grew more than 5 percent in the first six months
SUPPLY RESILIENCE: The extra expense would be worth it, as the US firm is diversifying chip sourcing to avert disruptions similar to the one during the pandemic, the CEO said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) on Wednesday said that the chips her company gets from supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would cost more when they are produced in TSMC’s Arizona facilities. Compared with similar parts from factories in Taiwan, the US chips would be “more than 5 percent, but less than 20 percent” in terms of higher costs, she said at an artificial intelligence (AI) event in Washington. AMD expects its first chips from TSMC’s Arizona facilities by the end of the year, Su said. The extra expense is worth it, because the company is
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