ACQUISITIONS
FTC approves Micron plan
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday approved Micron Technology Inc’s plan to purchase the remaining 67 percent stake in its Taiwanese DRAM arm, Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), in a deal worth about NT$130 billion (US$4.02 billion). The transaction is expected to be completed in the middle of this year and after that Inotera will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Semiconductor Taiwan Co, a unit of the US company. Micron, the world’s No. 3 DRAM chipmaker, is offering NT$30 per common share to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Inotera, as it aims to boost its long-term operational efficiency.
ACQUISITIONS
Hon Hai eyes TeleEye
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it is to spend HK$240.33 million (US$30.98 million) to acquire a 50.07 percent stake in TeleEye Holdings Ltd (千里眼控股) — a Hong Kong-based surveillance camera applications supplier. Hon Hai is to purchase 419.06 million shares worth HK$0.55 per share on the open market after authorities in Hong Kong approved its planned investment, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Hon Hai said the investment is part of its efforts to develop its new business, without elaborating.
INVESTMENT
Board approves new shares
Taiwan Land Development Corp (台灣土地開發) yesterday said its board has decided to issue up to 80 million new shares to boost its working capital. The company said in a stock exchange filing that it plans to issue the new shares at NT$15 per share via a private placement at an undecided date within the next 12 months. The goal of the move is to raise funds for long-term development and strategic investment purposes, the company said.
SHIPPING
New service to be launched
Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運), the nation’s third-largest container shipping company in terms of fleet size, yesterday announced to expand further on its present intensive intra-Asia network by launching a China-Manila-Thailand Service (CMT) with a maiden voyage on April 26. The joint venture service with Japan’s Interasia Lines Ltd (IAL) is to see Wan Hai operate two vessels of 700 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) type and IAL with one 700-TEU vessel. Wan Hai said the launch of the CMT service will enhance direct connections between China and ASEAN countries and among ASEAN countries.
AVIATION
Tigerair to open new route
Tigerair Taiwan (台灣虎航), a budget airline joint venture between China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and Singapore’s Tiger Airways, yesterday said it is opening a flight route serving Sendai in Japan. The company said it will launch the Taoyuan-Sendai route beginning on June 29, making it the first budget airline to offer direct flights to Japan’s Tohoku Region.
INVESTMENT
Companies record Q1 dip
Taiwanese companies listed on the nation’s main bourse saw their total consolidated revenue contract by 1.21 percent year-on-year to NT$2.3 trillion last month, according to a statement by Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp on Tuesday. The decline in last month’s sales was attributed to weakening performance of the optoelectronics sector, oil and gas industries, as well as communication and networking companies. During the first quarter of the year, listed companies’ total sales were NT$6.3 trillion, down 4.8 percent year-on-year.
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
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
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