BANKING
Asia-Pacific poses risk
Sluggish economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region this year is a key risk for banks in the region, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said yesterday. Moreover, high-impact stress from China could hurt many Asia-Pacific banking systems through their direct and indirect exposures, the ratings agency said in a report. “We expect credit losses of Asia-Pacific banks to rise as growth in major regional economies is likely to slow down,” S&P credit analyst Geeta Chugh said. “China’s slowing economy has also set the stage for increasing credit losses for these banks.” While Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies are feeling pain from their China linkages, Japan’s lagging economic recovery and its central bank’s protracted accommodative monetary stance are likely to add to the stress on Japanese banks’ net interest margins, the report said.
ACQUISITIONS
No McDonald’s buyer
Shihlin Electric & Engineering Corp (士林電機) and Ambassador Hotel (國賓大飯店) yesterday rejected media reports suggesting that their parent company, Yeangder Group (仰德集團), is poised to acquire McDonald’s Corp’s 350 branches in Taiwan. In separate filings to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, the two firms said they have not been in contact with the US fast-food giant. McDonald’s last year announced plans to sell a 90 percent stake in its local operation to potential franchisees as part of its global turnaround plan.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Sigurd to pay dividend
Chip testing and packaging services provider Sigurd Microelectronics Corp (矽格) yesterday said its board has approved a plan to distribute cash dividends of NT$1.6 per share for last year. That translates into a cash dividend yield of 6.7 percent based on yesterday’s closing share price of NT$23.6 and a cash payout ratio of 75.8 percent based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$2.11. Sigurd reported a net profit of NT$751.15 million (US$22.64 million) and revenue of NT$5.05 billion. The company is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on May 27.
SEMICONDUCTORS
VPEC posts solid sales
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) wafer foundry Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co (VPEC, 全新光電) yesterday said that sales reached NT$188.23 million last month, down 15.08 percent from NT$221.68 million in January, but up 5.51 percent from NT$178.4 million in February last year. Revenue in the first two months of the year totaled NT$409.9 million, up 23.69 percent year on year. Capital Securities Co (群益證券) is positive on VPEC’s outlook this year, aided by orders from new and existing clients. Although demand might decelerate this quarter due to a seasonal slowdown, the quarterly decline in revenue is likely to be limited this quarter and growth momentum could resume next quarter, it said.
AIRLINES
Singapore targets Taiwan
Singapore Airlines Ltd yesterday said it aims to attract more passengers in Taiwan as it expand its fleet and destinations. The carrier is looking to capitalize on an order of 67 new A350-900 jets to provide better services to Taiwanese passengers, said Nelson Low (劉家福), general manager of its Taiwan office, adding that a new service between Singapore and Duesseldorf, Germany, is set to start on July 21. The carrier may also resume non-stop flight services from Singapore to Los Angeles and New York in 2018 after seven of its jets are upgraded to A350-900ULR aircraft, he said.
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks