ACQUISITIONS
Germany approves ASE bid
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said that it has received approval from Germany’s competition watchdog to proceed with its acquisition of smaller rival Siliconware Precision Industry Co (SPIL, 矽品精密). “The notified concentration does not fulfill the conditions of prohibition… It can be implemented,” a notification from the German agency said. “The implementation of the notification needs to be announced immediately.” ASE postponed its tender offer to buy SPIL from Feb. 16 to March 16, as the case is still under review by the Fair Trade Commission.
COMPONENTS
SPIL eyes Unimicron sale
Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密), the world’s third-largest chip packager and tester, yesterday said that it planned to sell 35 million shares of printed circuit board maker Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子). The sale is expected to result in a NT$3.63 million (US$107,811) loss for the company, according to SPIL’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. SPIL has booked NT$3.28 billion in asset impairments, partly from its holdings of Unimicron Technology, for the final quarter last year.
MANUFACTURING
Kinsus approves dividends
Kinsus Interconnect Technology Corp (景碩), a silicon substrate maker, yesterday said that its board has approved a plan to distribute cash dividends of NT$3.5 for each common share. That represents a payout ratio of about 54 percent based on the company’s net profit of NT$2.9 billion, or NT$6.51 per share. The distribution delivers 5.03 percent in cash dividend yields, as Kinsus shares rose 0.43 percent to NT$69.5 yesterday. The company made NT$23.06 billion in revenue last year, down 7.55 percent from the NT$24.94 billion it made in 2014.
AVIATION
Fuel surcharges set to be cut
The aviation fuel surcharges on flights operated by Taiwanese carriers are to be reduced because of the steady fall in international crude oil prices, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday. Beginning on Feb. 7, the fuel surcharge for short-distance flights will be cut by US$2.50 per flight to US$5 and for long-haul flights by US$6.5 per leg to US$13, the agency announced. State-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 中油) announced earlier in the day that international aviation fuel prices for this month would be lowered from US$56.03 per barrel to US$46.27 per barrel. CPC also announced price cuts for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas this month. Effective today, prices for household LPG are to drop by NT$3 per kilogram and NT$1.02 per liter for LPG used in cars, CPC said.
STOCK MARKET
TAIEX rises despite swings
The TAIEX yesterday rose 11.75 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 8,156.96 on turnover of NT$83.23 billion. Stocks in the local market experienced price oscillations during the day’s trading, which continued to reflect the impact of Japan’s negative interest rate policy and rises in international stock markets. Apple-concept shares weakened compared with their strong showing last week. Meanwhile, the financial and biotech sectors were in correction declines. The electronics sector rose 0.25 percent, while the financial sector registered a 0.67 percent drop.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure