Taiwan Mobile widens 4G stake
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) yesterday said it has acquired a 5 megahertz (MHz) block of the 4G long-term evolution (LTE) spectrum from Ambit Microsystems Corp (國碁電子) for NT$3.43 billion (US$113.13 million).
The nation’s second-largest wireless carrier also acquired a 14.9 percent stake in Ambit for NT$2.98 billion, Taiwan Mobile said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Pending approval from authorities, the acquisition would bring Taiwan Mobile’s LTE spectrum holding to 35MHz, the most of any carrier, in a bid to “provide the fastest data service to consumers and boost the company’s investment value for shareholders.”
Ambit, a telecommunications subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), is to submit a spectrum transfer request to local authorities after receiving its 4G concession license.
ARM FinFET chip produced
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said its collaboration with HiSilicon Technologies Co (海思半導體) has produced the foundry segment’s first fully functional ARM-based networking processor with FinFET technology.
FinFET (fin field-effect-transistor) refers to a fin-based, multigate transistor architecture that aims to offer space-optimized, energy efficient transistors design.
Built on TSMC’s 16-nanometer FinFET process technology, HiSilicon’s new processor enables a significant leap in performance and power optimization supporting high-end networking applications, the company said in a statement.
Tourists pay extra at Lanyu 7-11
The 7-Eleven store on Orchid Island (Lanyu) sells items at two different prices: one for the island’s 4,000 local residents and a higher price for outsiders.
President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which operates the nation’s largest convenience store chain, said tourists who visit the island’s outlet, which opened its doors on Friday last week, are charged 10 percent more on each item to help cover shipping costs.
President Chain said all the staff at the store are Orchid Island residents, who can identify locals by appearance and speech.
White-box gadgets rising
The global markets for white-box smartphones and tablets are expected to continue to grow this year, driven mainly by strong demand from emerging markets, Gartner Inc said in a research note on Monday.
The white-box smartphone market is to grow 50 percent this year, while the white-box tablet market is to grow 15.6 percent, Gartner said.
A typical white-box device is a non-branded device created via a turnkey solution based on available processors and reference designs. It is targeted at affordable price point segments across mobile handset and tablet markets, the market researcher said.
Singapore governance slides
Corporate governance in Singapore deteriorated in the past two years amid slowing reforms, dipping below the perceived strength of Hong Kong for the first time since 2007, according to a survey.
Hong Kong scored the highest in the Asia-Pacific region this year with 65, followed by Singapore’s 64, though both were tied for first in the rankings because of the minimal difference in the results, according to a joint report by CLSA Ltd and the Asian Corporate Governance Association. Japan passed Thailand for third, while the Philippines and Indonesia ranked last.
CLSA said in a study of 944 companies in the region, corporate governance scores slipped from 2012, with the biggest decline coming from South Korea.
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ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to