Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s top contract chipmaker, could continue to be the main supplier of Apple Inc’s A9 processor used in its new-
generation iPhones and iPads next year, a market researcher said yesterday.
The key for TSMC to win over its main competitor, Samsung Electronics Co, in vying for Apple’s orders is its production yield, the Market Intelligence and Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) told a press conference on technology industry trends for next year.
“The two companies’ technological capabilities are similar, so the key factor will be whose mass-production yield is better,” MIC director Chris Hung (洪春暉) told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
Hung added that the chances of TSMC remaining the main supplier are higher because of its better yields.
Samsung also produces advanced 20-nanometer (nm) chips, but its yield is not satisfactory, Hung said.
“However, as Apple tends to spread the risks, it is likely that the winning supplier of A9 will not take all the orders,” Hung said.
The MIC holds a positive view of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry next year, despite China’s determination to develop its chip industry, Hung said.
“Although Beijing is to back up the development of its semiconductor industry with an industry-supporting fund of 120 billion yuan [US$19.29 billion], Taiwan still has its technological advantages in terms of design, manufacturing and packaging in the global market,” Hung said.
He said it would take three to five years for China to become a real threat to the Taiwanese industry, but some Taiwanese companies have started to take proactive measures against the rising competition.
Handset chip supplier MediaTek Inc’s (聯發科) 300 million yuan investment in a Chinese government fund and United Microelectronics Corp’s (UMC, 聯電) US$1.35 billion planned investment in a new foundry in Xiamen demonstrates the two companies’ determination to deepen cooperation with China and to benefit from the rapid growth in the world’s largest semiconductor market, he said.
Hung said he expects mergers and acquisitions among Chinese semiconductor companies in the next two or three years, adding that Chinese companies might integrate their upstream and downstream suppliers via strategic cooperation with international companies.
“International semiconductor companies Intel Corp and Samsung both attempted to secure their positions in the Chinese market through investments in chips plants in the country,” Hung said.
Intel has two chips plants in Chengdu (成都) and Dalian (大連) cities, and Samsung established its first semiconductor fabrication plan in Xian (西安), he added.
Hung said the global companies’ moves in China would push Taiwanese companies to secure the positions in the Chinese market as soon as possible.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS