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.
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
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
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