CHIPMAKERS
TSMC says not facing probes
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has not received any formal notifications from the European Commission or the US Federal Trade Commission about potential anti-trust probes. TSMC’s response came after market researcher MLex Ltd reported that the chipmaker is facing investigations because it could abuse its dominant position in the semiconductor industry to force potential competitors from the market. MLex did not disclose where it obtained the information. TSMC spokesperson Elizabeth Sun (孫又文) said the company has strictly followed related rules.
TELECOM
Sercomm revenue hits high
Telecommunications equipment maker Sercomm Corp (中磊) yesterday reported record-high monthly revenue of NT$3.54 billion (US$117.588 million) for last month. The figure represents 10 percent annual growth and an 8 percent monthly increase, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. In the first eight months of this year, Sercomm generated NT$24.44 billion in revenue, rising 0.2 percent from the same period last year, the filing showed.
ROBOTICS
Perobot offers free training
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) subsidiary Perobot Co Ltd (沛博科技) yesterday launched the “Pepper Partner Program,” offering free training to the first 50 developers who buy humanoid robot Pepper. Taiwan is the third nation in which the training program is being offered, Perobot said in a statement. The program aims to accelerate development of robotic technology, it said, adding that it would offer software development kits and database codes to developers.
INVESTMENT
FSITC fund to target utilities
State-run First Securities Investment Trust Co (FSITC, 第一金投信) is to launch a new fund targeting global electricity, water and gas suppliers. Global utility bills amount to NT$30 trillion, equivalent to the market capitalization of the TAIEX at the 10,000-point mark, and heavyweight investors such as Warren Buffett and Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠) hold significant shares in utility funds, the firm said. Utility fund holders reported gains in the past three years, with returns reaching 26.3 percent, FSITC said, adding that it would sell utility funds from Sept. 20.
ELECTRONICS
TPK Holing to issue shares
TPK Holing Co (宸鴻), which supplies touchpanel modules to Apple Inc, said it plans to raise US$237 million by issuing 60 million new common shares in the form of global depository receipts to fund raw material purchases, a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange released on Monday showed. Each share is to be priced at NT$118.7, representing a discount of 2.3 percent from a closing price of NT$121.5 on Monday. The new receipts, which might dilute the firm’s capital shares by about 13 percent, are to begin trading on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange tomorrow.
INSURANCE
CDFHC tender successful
China Development Financial Holding Corp (CDFHC, 中華開發金控) on Tuesday announced that a tender offer for Taipei-based China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽) shares had exceeded the maximum threshold of a 25.33 percent stake, meaning it was successful. On Aug. 23, the Fair Trade Commission approved CDFHC’s NT$30.8 billion plan to acquire a 25.33 percent stake in China Life at NT$35 per share.
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],”
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained
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