MANUFACTURING
Index contracts 15th month
The composite index of the local manufacturing sector contracted for the 15 consecutive month last month, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday. The index fell 0.29 points to 9.79 points last month from the previous month, because of the negative growth in exports amid slow global economic recovery, the institute said. The 15-month decline marks the longest period of decline for the index, which gauges the climate of the sector, the institute added.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Hermes income falls 20.76%
Semiconductor inspection tool and equipment maker Hermes Microvision Inc (HMI, 漢微科) yesterday said that its second-quarter net income fell 20.76 percent annually to NT$545.14 million (US$17.08 million), as sales dropped 35.23 percent year-on-year to NT$1.49 billion. The results were compared to a net income of NT$251.8 million in the first quarter on sales of NT$986.22 million. Earnings per share were NT$7.68 for the April-June quarter. In the first half of this year, Hermes Microvision’s net income fell 29.21 percent to NT$796.94 million from the same period last year, with earnings per share falling to NT$11.22 from NT$15.86, the company’s financial statement showed. Last month, the company announced it is to be acquired by ASML Holding NV for NT$1,410 per share in the fourth quarter.
LIGHTING
Laster Tech to list on TAIEX
LED chip and lighting products supplier Laster Tech Corp (麗清科技) yesterday said that it has submitted an application to be listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company, which currently trades its shares on the Taipei Exchange’s Emerging Stock Board, said it expects to be listed on the main bourse in the first quarter of next year. Laster Tech reported record sales of NT$1.5 billion in the first half of this year, up 11.43 percent year-on-year. Sales growth in the second half is to be driven by a subsidy program in China encouraging consumers to purchase lower-emission cars with engines no larger than 1.6 liters, the company said.
MANUFACTURING
EPZA approves investments
The Export Processing Zone Administration (EPZA) on Thursday gave the green light to four companies to invest a total of NT$400 million (US$12.5 million) in Taiwan’s export processing parks, which are to create 130 new job openings. The four companies are Nympheas International Biomaterial Corp (奈菲兒生醫), LIGA Precision Technology Co (利佳精密科技), General Cycle Co (京匯股份) and Luhao Technology Co (陸豪科技), the EPZA said. Nympheas will be the largest investor among the four companies after planning to bring in NT$300 million to the Chungkang Export Processing Zone (中港園區) in Taichung. The four companies will all build new bases in Taichung, a move that will help build Taichung into a hub for smart and precision machinery production.
FINANCE
Yuanta to dissolve Polaris
Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) on Thursday announced that its board of directors would dissolve its subsidiary Polaris Insurance Agency Co Ltd (寶來保代) on Aug. 31, after gaining authorization from the company’s shareholders. The move is aimed at cutting operating costs, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. It added that most Polaris sales agents have been reassigned to Yuanta Life Insurance Agency Co (元大國際人身保代), a unit under its brokerage unit, Yuanta Securities Co (元大證券).
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