CEMENT
TCC may see earnings rise
Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台泥) might see its earnings expand this quarter from last quarter on the back of high-season sales, Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) said in a note on Tuesday last week. The company’s earnings would also grow on contributions from Hoping Power Co (和平電廠) in Hualien County, which enters the peak season this quarter, Capital said. Taiwan Cement reported net income of NT$2 billion (US$63.1 million) last quarter. Its net income for this quarter is forecast to increase 29.95 percent year-on-year to NT$2.6 billion, with NT$7.17 billion estimated for the whole of this year, the brokerage said.
WOOD PRODUCTS
Green River eyes China
Thailand-based wood board manufacturer Green River Holding Co might benefit from growing demand in China this year, as Beijing is to ban commercial logging next year, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a note on Thursday last week. The company also has a chance to penetrate China’s particle-board market, as the need for such items is increasing, Yuanta said in the report. Green River told an investors’ conference on Wednesday last week that it has expanded capacity for wood boards and particle boards and that it is to keep developing value-added products.
TECHNOLOGY
Largan target raised
Citigroup Global Markets Inc has raised its target price for shares of Largan Precision Co (大立光) from NT$4,000 to NT$5,100, as the smartphone-camera lens supplier is expected to benefit from the rising adoption of dual lenses in the global industry. China’s Vivo Electronics Corp (維沃移動通信) is using Largan’s dual lenses in its new smartphone models, Citigroup said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”