BANKING
Yuan deposits rise
Yuan deposits at Taiwanese banks totaled 302.27 billion yuan (US$48.82 billion) at the end of last month, rising moderately from 300.6 billion yuan at the end of November, the central bank said yesterday. Last month’s yuan deposits included 247.11 billion yuan in savings accounts at 67 domestic banking units and 55.16 billion yuan in savings accounts at 59 offshore banking units, central bank data showed.
CHIP PACKAGERS
ASE to spin off unit
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s biggest chip packager, yesterday said its board approved plans to spin off of its subsidiary, Universal Scientific Industrial Co Ltd (USI, 環電), as part of an effort to enhance operational flexibility via structural adjustments. USI’s board also yesterday passed the spin-off, as well as capital reduction proposals, which are to be submitted to a special shareholders’ meeting on Feb. 2. The spin-off and capital reduction are to take effect on March 6, ASE said in a statement.
TRADE
Exports tipped to grow
Exports are expected to grow 3.58 percent this year, following an annual increase of 2.75 percent last year, on the back of new production technology to secure more orders from foreign buyers, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) chairman Francis Liang (梁國新) said on Wednesday. To boost Taiwanese goods’ global visibility, TAITRA plans to hold 144 promotional campaigns this year, 13 more than last year, he said.
CHIPMAKERS
Ichia surges on sales report
Ichia Technologies Inc (毅嘉科技) shares rose by the daily maximum yesterday after it reported record-high sales and earnings for last year, while Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said the firm’s trademark “PEDLIM” technology for flexible printed circuit (FPC) manufacturing could help it land significant new orders this year. Sales grew 201 percent from 2013 to NT$11.23 billion (US$353.3 million) last year, while net profit expanded 190 percent to NT$1.07 billion, or NT$3.21 per share, Ichia said. Its shares closed at NT$33.45 yesterday. “Auto electronics, wearable devices and mobile devices will continue to drive FPC industry growth,” Yuanta wrote in a note. “The company may face challenges in the first quarter, but with improved sales to come in the second quarter.”
CHIP DESIGNERS
Himax faces slowdown
Himax Technologies Inc (奇景光電) might see its revenue for this quarter decline by single-digit percentage points from last quarter due to a seasonal slowdown, but gross margin could be flat from last quarter thanks to a better product mix, Credit Suisse AG said yesterday. Himax, which designs chips used in flat-panel displays, on Wednesday posted its results for last quarter, with revenue at US$227.2 million, a gross margin of 24.7 percent and earnings per share of US$0.087 to US$0.092.
"We think first-quarter sales will decline 4 percent quarter-on-quarter, better than normal seasonality of a 5-10 percent quarter-on-quarter drop, given strong smartphone demand from its [South] Korean customers," Credit Suisse wrote.
OPTICS
New shares issued
Ability Optoelectronics Technology Inc (先進光電) on Wednesday said it had raised NT$360 million in fresh funds by issuing 15 million new shares. That will increase the firm’s registered capital to NT$1.14 billion. The company, whose business focuses on optical lenses for mobile phones, notebook computers, camcorders and surveillance devices, plans to use the proceeds to boost working capital and repay bank loans.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day