PANEL MAKERS
China to increase orders
A group of Chinese buyers, led by China Video Industry Association deputy director Bai Weimin (白為民), is expected to place orders for between 27 million and 28 million flat panels worth US$4.5 billion this year, up from orders of 23 million flat panels worth US$3.52 billion last year. The group, invited by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (外貿協會), yesterday participated in an annual procurement drive for Taiwanese flat panels in Tapiei. Bai said the Chinese delegation would join this year’s Computex and plans to visit panel suppliers, such as Innolux Corp (群創光電) and AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電). She said China would still have to import TV panels from Taiwan this year, because Chinese panel makers would supply less than 50 percent of Chinese TV makers’ demand for flat screens.
TELECOMS
Sercomm eyes record sales
Telecom equipment maker Sercomm Corp (中磊) yesterday said the company is confident of achieving record sales this year, driven by broadband infrastructure demand from the US and China as well as the company’s expanded capacity through automation programs. With exposure to the Internet of Things, 4G long-term evolution equipment and 4G small cells, the company last year reported sales of NT$23.19 billion (US$752.9 million) and net income of NT$949 million, or NT$4.21 per share, the highest in the company’s history. In the first quarter, Sercomm posted sales of NT$635 million, with earnings per share of NT$0.73. Shareholders yesterday approved a company plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$3 per share, with a payout ratio of 71.26 percent.
MANUFACTURING
Airtac dividend approved
Sharesholders of pneumatic components supplier Airtac International Group (亞德客) yesterday approved a company proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$4.8 per share and a stock dividend of 5 percent. Airtac reported record-level net profit of NT$1.79 billion and sales of NT$8.38 billion last year. However, the company’s financial results for the first quarter were weaker than expected, with net profit falling 35 percent year-on-year to NT$249 million and sales rising just 2 percent to NT$1.87 billion.
REAL ESTATE
Shin Kong buys land plots
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) on Wednesday won an auction for two plots of land in Taichung owned by the Bureau of High Speed Rail. The insurer won the bid for two plots — measuring a total of 3,689 ping (12,195.06m2) near the high-speed rail station in Wuri District (烏日) — for NT$1.048 billion, which translates into NT$284,100 per ping. Shin Kong plans to construct buildings on the land, utilizing some buildings for self-use and leasing the rest.
ECONOMY
IMD ranking improves
The International Institute for Management’s (IMD) latest global competitiveness report showed Taiwan’s ranking moved up two notches this year to 11th from 13th the previous year, with improvements in three main subindices — economic performance, government efficiency and business efficiency. The IMD report released on Wednesday said challenges facing Taiwan this year include achieving improved social cohesion and integration, economic liberalization, faster industrial transitioning, stronger economic growth and a green economy.
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