SEMICONDUCTORS
Siliconware ADRs up 24.13%
American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Taiwan-based integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) jumped 24.13 percent on Wall Street overnight in the wake of an acquisition plan proposed by rival Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體). ASE’s ADRs added 5.33 percent amid hopes that such a tie-up will further burnish the suitor’s global standing. ASE ranks as the world’s largest IC packaging and testing services provider and SPIL, the third-largest.
CHINA
US presses for reforms
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pressed the country to continue with economic and financial reforms on Friday in the wake of Beijing’s surprise devaluation of the yuan last week. Lew told Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (汪洋) in a telephone conversation that it is critical the country continue with reforms that are necessary to move toward an economy driven primarily by household consumption rather than exports, which is in both countries’ best interests, according to a US Department of Treasury account of the call.
INTERNET
Google-Twitter deal extended
Google Inc and Twitter Inc on Friday announced their partnership placing tweets in online search results has been extended to desktop. Confirmation came in a tweeted exchange between the two US tech firms. “Hey @twitter, Search party at our place. Meet us on desktop?” Google said, to which Twitter replied: “You got it, @google. We’ll bring the Tweets.” The tie-up could help boost engagement at Twitter.
CASINOS
Ceasars, lenders reach deal
Caesars Entertainment Corp on Friday said that it had a deal with the most-senior lenders to its bankrupt unit, allowing the casino operator to focus on getting support from the last major group holding out on its restructuring plan. Caesars and its main operating subsidiary, the bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating Co, got lenders to agree to the reorganization plan to turn the operating unit into a real-estate investment trust from the two most-senior creditor groups, which own about US$12 billion in obligations.
GREECE
Hellas suspension slammed
The government is accusing a Canadian-run mining firm of holding the 2,000 workers in its northern Greek mines “hostage” in a dispute over alleged violations of concession terms. Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold’s Greek subsidiary, Hellas Gold, has said it will suspend most of its employees in the country for up to three months, after the government halted work at a mine in Halkidiki. It said it would have to fire workers if the permits are not reinstated.
SOFTWARE
Vision mulls selling unit
Vision Critical Communications Inc is weighing the sale of its consulting business ahead of a possible initial public offering by the Canadian marketing software firm, according to people familiar with the process. Selling the unit would make Vision Critical a pure-play cloud software company that might prove more attractive to investors if it went public, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San