SEMICONDUCTORS
GMT revenue boost forecast
Global Mixed-mode Technology Inc (GMT, 致新科技), an analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) developer, might see revenue increase between 3 percent and 9 percent this quarter from last quarter’s NT$860 million (US$27.54 million), thanks to seasonal demand, analysts said. The positive outlook for this quarter comes after the company, which mainly focuses on power management ICs, said its net profit fell 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$82.64 million in the second quarter due to sliding gross margin and higher tax rates. Earnings per share were NT$0.96 in the April-June period, the lowest level in the past four quarters.
MANUFACTURING
Cheng Shin shares fall
Tire maker Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co (正新橡膠) yesterday saw its shares drop 4.53 percent after reporting a weaker-than-expected earnings for last quarter. Net profit fell 0.86 percent to NT$3.99 billion in the second quarter from the first quarter, because of higher marketing, and research and development expenses. Earnings per share were NT$1.23, with gross margin of 32.92 percent, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company reported an annual increase of 0.4 percent in sales for the first seven months of the year to NT$69.96 billion.
INFRASTRUCTURE
CTCI to build sewage system
CTCI Corp (中鼎工程), which builds refinery and power plant facilities, yesterday announced that it has been awarded a NT$43 billion contract to build an underground sewage system for Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢). The 35-year project is to be undertaken by a subsidiary jointly established with Continental Holdings Corp (欣達環工), CTCI said. The project includes a sewage water processing plant capable of recycling 156,800 tonnes of water daily from 200,000 households, CTCI added.
AEROSPACE
AIDC ‘not deterred’ by rival
Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業) yesterday reiterated its resolve to participate in the nation’s endeavor to build a fleet of indigenously developed air force trainer jets. The nation’s largest civilian and military aircraft manufacturer was responding to public relations efforts by a rival M-346 two-engine transonic trainer aircraft developed by Alenia Aermacchi, a subsidiary of Italian aerospace company Leonardo-Finmeccanica. AIDC said that it would not be deterred by the Leonardo’s attempt to gain media exposure, including extending invitations for Taiwanese reporters to visit Italy. A Ministry of National Defense spokesman last week said that the nation’s is still prioritizing indigenous development, which the company’s board of directors approved plans to prioritize the endeavor on Wednesday, AIDC said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
DRAM output up 6.3%
Global output of DRAM chipmaking increased 6.3 percent to US$9.1 billion in the second quarter from the previous quarter, with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co remaining the world’s largest DRAM maker with a market share of 47.4 percent, Taipei-based market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a recent report. South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc and the US’ Micron Technology Inc took the second and third place in the April-June quarter, with market shares of 26.5 percent and 19 percent respectively, the report said. Global DRAM output could continue to expand this quarter, it said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy