STEELMAKERS
CSC cuts pre-tax loss
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, reported narrowed monthly pre-tax loss of NT$318 million (US$9.5 million) for last month, due to recovering demand. That was an improvement compared with December’s pre-tax loss of NT$1.93 billion posted by the Kaohsiung-based company. Shipments of carbon steel grew more than 6 percent to 895,669 tonnes from 842,094 tonnes in the previous month. Supported by improving demand, CSC last month revised upward its shipment target for this quarter by about 17 percent to 3.15 million tonnes from a previous estimate of 2.7 million tonnes.
TELECOMS
MediaTek eyes 5G drive
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) and Japanese telecom operator NTT DoCoMo Inc on Monday announced a joint effort to drive 5G technology development. The two companies are to collaborate on developing new 5G air interfaces and chipsets required for 5G devices, raising spectrum efficiency and increasing data capacity. MediaTek is one of the major technology companies selected by NTT DoCoMo to contribute expertise and technology innovations needed to support the launch of new 5G networks by 2020.
PANELMAKERS
Quake affects production
The magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the south of the nation on Feb. 6 caused a 5 percent to 10 percent reduction in production at LCD manufacturing facilities in Tainan last month, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. The earthquake caused damage to Innolux Corp’s (群創) Gen-5 and Gen-6 fabs, TrendForce said. Innolux on Monday said that the production lines affected by the earthquake have fully recovered. TrendForce expects the disruption to supply to cause sharp price fluctuations in the panel market in the short term. However, price trends are likely to return to their normal patterns next month when panel fabs resume normal operation after repairs, it said. Among the large-size applications, TV panels were affected the most by the earthquake, TrendForce said. Innolux is the world’s sole supplier of 39.5-inch TV panels, which are made in its two Gen-6 fabs in Tainan.
EMPLOYMENT
Workers hoping to retire
More than 60 percent of Taiwanese aged 45 or older said they hope to retire in the next five years, although 39 percent of that group expressed doubt that they can accomplish their goal, a report showed yesterday. As for their reasons for wanting to retire early, 55 percent said they wish to pursue their personal interests, while 44 percent said they wish to spend more time with their families, according to the survey by HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀). Nearly one-third of respondents said they are tired of their jobs, and nearly one-quarter said their current jobs are affecting their health. Among those who doubt their ability to retire early, 81 percent cited personal finance as the reason for not being able to fulfill their wish for an early retirement, the survey showed. Worldwide, 65 percent of pre-retirees said they hope to retire in five years, with 38 percent of those pessimistic about achieving that goal. The survey involved more than 18,000 working people in 17 nations and regions between September and October last year.
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],”