SEMICONDUCTORS
NXP acquisition approved
Qualcomm Inc yesterday said it has gained approval from the Fair Trade Commission to carry out its acquisition of Dutch rival NXP Semiconductors NV, adding that the ruling is in line with a decision rendered in April by the US Federal Trade Commission. As the two companies have established separate supply chains while competing on the global market, the deal would not affect access to products and technologies, Qualcomm said, citing the Taiwanese regulator’s ruling. Through the merger, Qualcomm expects synergistic gains in the automotive and Internet of Things fields, it said.
LOGISTICS
T3EX upbeat on second half
Freight forwarder and logistics operator T3EX Global Holdings Corp (台驊國際投資控股) yesterday was upbeat on its prospects in the second half of the year, as ocean freight rates begin to recover from a slump, while its air transport business servicing Apple Inc suppliers is to benefit from the launch of high-profile products by the US giant. The company reported that sales in the first five months of this year rose 11.82 percent year-on-year to NT$4.21 billion (US$138.7 million), with revenue from its ocean freight business rising 15 percent to NT$2.52 billion. During the same period, air freight sales rose 16 percent year-on-year to NT$1.07 billion, the company said at its annual shareholders’ meeting.
SEMICONDUCTORS
NT$2.5 dividend approved
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said its shareholders have approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$2.5 per common share based on last year’s net profit of NT$939 million, or earnings per share of NT$2.54. Benefitting from growing global demand, GlobalWafers expects revenue to rise to an historical high this year from last year’s NT$18.43 billion. Strong demand has caused a supply shortage of all sizes of wafers, the company said.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai shares hit NT$109.5
The market capitalization of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) breached NT$1.89 trillion yesterday, when its share price hit its highest level since late August 2014. The strong showing came after an Asia-based brokerage raised its target price for Hon Hai amid hopes that the world’s largest contract electronics maker is to expand its product portfolio, including robots, and launch its own brand, dealers said. Hon Hai shares advanced 4.29 percent to close at NT$109.5, with 91.13 million shares changing hands. The TAIEX closed up 0.92 percent at 10,250.60 points. Hon Hai’s closing price was its highest level since Aug. 27, 2014, when it stood at NT$112.
TELECOMS
THSRC to expand Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi access is now available on 80 percent of Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) trains, the firm said yesterday. The company said it has begun setting up Wi-Fi facilities on its trains in cooperation with Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), allowing travelers to access the government-backed free “iTaiwan” Wi-Fi service. Although 80 percent of the trains now have Wi-Fi installed, there might be poor coverage on some sections of the line, THSRC said. The company is planning to have Wi-Fi installed on all its trains in time for this year’s Universiade in Taipei, which begins on Aug. 19, by which time the quality of Wi-Fi connections would also have improved, it 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],”