EMPLOYMENT
Less workers on furlough
The number of workers in Taiwan on unpaid leave fell sharply in the first two weeks of this month as about 20 employers ended their unpaid leave programs, government statistics released yesterday showed. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Labor, the number of furloughed workers fell to 642 from 1,045 at the end of last month. The ministry said that a total of 27 employers have implemented unpaid leave programs as of Tuesday, down by 18 percent from the end of last month. In the first half of this month, about 20 employers terminated their unpaid leave programs, while two others initiated theirs.
AIRLINES
TransAsia sells subsidiary
TransAsia Airways Corp (復興航空) yesterday announced that it has sold TransAsia Catering Services Ltd (復興空廚) to an affiliate for NT$525 million (US$15.9 million) in a bid to raise funds to improve flight safety and expand operating capital. The catering and support services subsidiary was sold to Taiwan Secom Co (中興保全), the carrier’s affiliate under the SIGMU Group. Taiwan Secom, which offers security systems and services, plans to expand into the baked goods market through the acquisition. TransAsia Catering Services was spun off from TransAsia Airways in 2002, and sales to the carrier averaged 31 percent of total revenue.
SEMICONDUCTORS
UMC to issue 1.28bn shares
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the nation’s No. 2 contract chipmaker, yesterday said its board approved a proposal to issue as many as 1.28 billion new shares via private placement in a bid to form strategic partnerships. The new shares account for about 10 percent of UMC’s total issued shares, the firm said, adding that it has not created a concrete plan yet. The board also approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$0.55 per share based on last year’s net profit of NT$13.45 billion, or NT$1.08 per share. Those proposals are subject to a shareholder vote during the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 7.
CHIPMAKERS
Sitronix to pay cash dividend
Handset panel driver IC designer Sitronix Technology Co (矽創) yesterday said its board has decided to pay a record-high cash dividend of NT$5 per share. The company plans to hold an annual general meeting on June 22 for shareholders to vote on the payout plan.
NETWORKING
D-Link chairman to retire
Networking equipment manufacturer D-Link Corp (友訊科技) yesterday said chairman and CEO Roger Kao (高鶴軒) has decided to retire from his posts. The company said Kao’s retirement would not affect the company’s operations and the board would soon elect his successor. Kao, who assumed the chairmanship in September 2011, said in a statement that he wants to pass on the baton to a younger generation as the company turns 30 this year.
SMARTPHONES
FIH net profit grows 35%
FIH Mobile Ltd (富智康), a handset manufacturing arm of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), on Tuesday said its net profit last year grew 35 percent to US$228 million from a year earlier, due to higher revenue and lower impairment losses. The company, which provides integrated manufacturing services for the handset industry worldwide, reported earnings per share of US$0.0296 for last year. The company’s board has agreed to distribute cash dividends of US$0.0869 per share.
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