SHIPPING
Wisdom Marine bullish
Shareholders of Wisdom Marine Group (慧洋海運集團), one of the nation’s listed bulk shippers, yesterday approved the company’s plan to distribute NT$3 per share in cash dividends, based on its net profit of NT$1.77 billion (US$57.34 million), or NT$3.81 per share, recorded last year. Wisdom Marine chairman James Lan (藍俊昇) maintained a bullish view that the company might see profitability this year grow from last year, thanks to the strategy of disposing of ships with low cost efficiency and signing long-term leasing contracts with customers. However, Lan said the overall sentiment in the bulk industry remains “helpless,” following the decline of the Baltic Dry Index — which tracks rates for transporting dry commodities such as coal, iron ore and grain across 20 shipping routes — by nearly 25 percent this year, closing at 588 points on Thursday.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Hermes revenue to rise
Semiconductor inspection tool and equipment maker Hermes Microvision Inc (漢微科) yesterday said revenue this year would exceed last year’s NT$7.21 billion as demand for advanced inspection tools increases. Company chairman Hsu Chin-jung (許金榮) said Hermes would benefit from customers’ migration to next-generation 14 nanometer (nm), 16nm and 10nm technologies. Hermes counts Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) as one of its major clients. Hermes shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$22 per share. That represents a more than 48 percent payout ratio based on the company’s earnings per share of NT$45.6 last year.
TELECOMS
Taiwan Star developing 4G
Local 4G service provider Taiwan Star Telecom Co Ltd (台灣之星) yesterday said it aims to double its number of 4G users to 500,000 this year, amid fast-growing adoption of the 4G network in the nation. Taiwan Star president Cliff Lai (賴弦五) said losses would widen this year from last year’s NT$2.8 billion loss, due to higher 4G network depreciation costs. He said the company hopes to break even in 2018. Lai made the remarks after the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting yesterday. Last year, Taiwan Star generated NT$86.16 million in revenue.
INTERNET
Travelers trust forums: poll
Agoda.com yesterday announced the results of its latest “Travel Smarts” survey, which showed that travelers trust online forums and blogs most when making travel plans. The survey, conducted over last month and this month, polled more than 5,500 Agoda.com customers and found that online forums were the most popular sources of information for travelers, winning 34 percent of votes. Blogs and independent Web sites came in second with 28 percent of the votes. Only 12 percent of respondents selected guidebooks. “When travelers turn to Internet resources, they benefit from the combined knowledge and experience of countless other travelers and can also target their research to suit their particular needs,” Agoda.com chief operating officer John Brown said.
TECHNOLOGY
Altek releases new camera
Digital camera maker Altek Corp (華晶科技) on Thursday unveiled a new mini-wireless camera, Cubic Live, that enables live broadcasting. The new camera uses wireless connectivity technology, such as WiFi and near-field communication, to control the camera from a smartphone, Altek said. The new camera would go on sale in July for NT$3,580, the company said.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”