28HPC volume production starts
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its 28-nanometer high performance compact (28HPC) process technology has entered volume production, which can deliver the best 64-bit CPU and long-term-evolution (LTE) modem performance in smartphones, tablets and other consumer products.
The company has taped out 10 customers with 28HPC products and started volume production for several others, the Hsinchu-based TSMC said in a statement. Another 70 new product tape-outs are in the pipeline scheduled for the end of the year, it said.
Tape-out is the final process in the chip design cycle before a chip is sent out for manufacturing.
Chinese chip companies Allwinner Technology Co (全志科技), Spreadtrum Communications Co (展訊通信) and Taiwan’s MStar Semiconductor Inc (晨星半導體) have adopted TSMC’s 28HPC process technology.
iPhone 6 rate plans announced
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) yesterday unveiled new rate plans for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, two weeks ahead of their debut in Taiwan on Sept. 26.
The company will offer a free iPhone 6, with 16 gigabytes of memory space, if consumers subscribe to a 24-month or a 30-month 4G LTE service contract, carrying a minimum monthly charge of NT$2,636 (US$88).
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大) also plans to offer a free iPhone 6, with 16G memory, for consumers signing a 24-month service contract of at least NT$2,599 a month.
Since Wednesday, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) has had more than 100,000 people subscribe to the company’s online notification service about pre-sale and rate plans for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, while 4G newcomer Taiwan Star Telecom Corp (台灣之星) has received more than 10,000 pre-orders for the new iPhones.
Yulon Nissan Infiniti Q50 target
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產), which distributes Nissan and Infiniti cars, aims to sell 1,000 Infiniti cars this year in Taiwan, up 32.45 percent from 755 cars last year, as the company is confident in the sales outlook of the Infiniti Q50 sedan launched yesterday.
The company has already received 300 orders for the Q50 since June and expects to sell 400 more by the end of this year, Yulon Nissan said. The company aims to sell 1,300 Infiniti cars next year, it added.
From January through Wednesday, Yulon Nissan sold 555 Infiniti cars, accounting for 1.3 percent of the local premium car market of 41,608 units, according to the latest industrial data.
ASE makes ‘Forbes’ Fab 50
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s largest integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider, yesterday said that it has been included by Forbes in its 2014 Asia Fabulous 50 (Fab 50) Companies list.
ASE said it is the first time the company has been listed as one of the Forbes Asia Fab 50 companies, adding that the company is the only Taiwanese firm to be included in the annual Forbes list.
Forbes has chosen the top 50 companies from a pool of 1,300 listed enterprises in Asia, and the candidates should have market capitalization or annual sales of no less than US$3 billion, as well as stable long-term performance and positive outlook.
Samsung names new official
Samsung Electronics Co yesterday announced the appointment of Lee Jaeyub as president of its office in Taiwan, effective immediately.
Lee’s predecessor, Moon Sung-hyun, will return to work at Samsung headquarters in Suwon, South Korea.
A veteran who has been with Samsung for 23 years, Lee has vast experience in consumer electronics and information technology. In 1999, he served as the head of Samsung’s display business unit in China, a company statement said.
During his two-year tenure in China, Lee boosted Samsung’s flat panel, LCD TV and consumer electronics business there. He returned to Samsung headquarters in 2012 to serve as the company’s global head for printer business, the statement said.
PCSC consolidated sales rise
President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs 7-Eleven convenience stores in the nation, yesterday said sales for this month would be higher than last month because of back-to-school sales, pre-orders for autumn crabs and steady demand for fresh and frozen food.
The company on Wednesday reported that consolidated sales for last month reached NT$18.31 billion, down 1.82 percent from July, but up 5.28 percent for the same period last year.
Consolidated sales were NT$138.4 billion in the first eight months of the year, representing a rise of 4.03 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
KMC revenue up 37 percent
Bicycle chain maker KMC Kuei Meng International Inc (桂盟國際) on Wednesday said- that consolidated revenue for last month fell 6.24 percent from July, but rose 37.32 percent from August last year to NT$244.94 million.
The company, whose major shareholders include Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械), Merida Industry Co (美利達) and Shimano (Taiwan) Co (台灣禧瑪諾), said revenue totaled NT$1.74 billion from January through last month, up 34.02 percent from a year earlier, thanks to contributions from overseas subsidiaries and strong seasonal demand.
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
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
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