SEMICONDUCTORS
FTC approves Hermes sale
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday approved Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holding NV’s acquisition of Hermes Microvision Inc (漢微科), saying the deal is unlikely to hurt competition. Hermes Microvision said it still expected the acquisition to be finalized by the end of the fourth quarter this year. Having received the nod from the commission, the deal now requires regulatory approval from the Investment Commission and authorities in the US, South Korea and Singapore.
MACROECONOMICS
M1B, M2 growth accelerates
The monthly growth rates of monetary aggregates M1B and M2 last month rose 0.68 percent and 0.54 percent respectively, the central bank said in a statement yesterday. The annual growth rate of M1B, a narrow measure of the amount of money in circulation, last month rose 6.24 percent from the same period last year. The annual growth rate of the broader M2 monetary measurement — which includes M1B, time deposits, foreign currency deposits and mutual funds — increased to 4.7 percent, mainly because of net foreign capital inflows and faster growth in foreign currency deposits, the central bank said. For the first seven months of the year, the average annual growth rates of M1B and M2 were 6.32 percent and 4.79 percent respectively, it said.
BANKING
Mortgage rates hit new low
The home mortgage rates of five major banks last month hit a new six-year low following four central bank interest rate cuts over the past year, according to data released by the government on Tuesday. The average interest rate for new housing loans offered by the five major lenders — Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) and First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) — last month fell to 1.695 percent, the lowest since August 2010, despite an increase of NT$1.28 billion (US$40.3 million) in housing loans from June, data showed.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Book-to-bill rises to 1.05%
The book-to-bill ratio for North America-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers increased from 1 in June to 1.05 last month, statistics released yesterday by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International showed. A ratio of 1.05 means that US$105 worth of orders were received for every US$100 of products billed in the month. It was the eighth consecutive month that the ratio stood at or above 1 percent, which implies a more optimistic outlook. “Monthly bookings and billings have reached US$1.7 billion on average over the past three months,” SEMI Taiwan president Terry Tsao (曹世綸) said in a statement. “The recent data indicate that strong investments in 3D NAND and in China will continue in the short term.”
MACROECONOMICS
DBS still bullish on growth
DBS Group Holdings Ltd yesterday said that weaker-than-expected economic data last month, such as export orders and industrial production, did not alter its view that Taiwan’s economy is growing, as seasonally adjusted monthly figures still indicated increases for both orders and production, while the manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is in expansionary territory. However, the momentum of growth recovery is undeniably weak and signs of recovery in the electronics sector are not very apparent, DBS said in a report. GDP is expected to grow 0.9 percent this year and 1.8 percent next year, it said.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
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
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
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