CAPACITOR MAKERS
Outlook positive: report
The outlook for aluminum solid capacitor makers appears positive next year, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported yesterday, citing industry watchers. The report said the positive outlook is due to sufficient orders from clients and tight supply of aluminum foil. The shortage of aluminum foil could continue into next year for aluminum solid capacitor makers because of the Chinese government’s strict control over aluminum foil wastewater, which could cause smaller vendors to withdraw from the market, the report said. Moreover, strong demand for aluminum solid capacitors in the automotive electronics sector might add more pressure to the supply situation, it added.
MOLDING GLASS
Kinik to form joint venture
Kinik Co (中砂), which makes abrasives and reclaimed wafers, yesterday said it plans to form a joint venture with Japan’s Nihon Yamamura Glass Co Ltd in a bid to expand its molding glass business, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Kinik did not provide a detailed timetable for the venture in the filing. The new joint venture is to be established in April, according to a statement Nihon Yamamura Glass posted on its Web site. Nihon Yamamura Glass is to hold a 70 percent share of the new company, while Kinik would own 30 percent, the statement said. The joint venture is to be located in Hsinchu. For the first half of this year, the wafer sector remained the largest contributor to Kinik, providing nearly 44 percent of the Taipei-headquartered company’s revenue, while molding glass contributed less than 1 percent, company data showed. Kinik shares fell 1.03 percent to close at NT$86.5 in Taipei trading yesterday.
SOLAR PRODUCTS
India launches trade probe
India yesterday launched a probe into solar cell and solar module importers to find out whether the increase in the imports has hurt local manufacturers due to unfair competition after the Indian Solar Manufacturers’ Association requested such a probe, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement yesterday. It is the latest step taken by India after it launched an anti-dumping investigation into solar cell importers from China, Taiwan and Malaysia. Taiwan exported US$51.45 million of solar products, primarily solar cells, to India last year, accounting for 1.79 percent of the market, the ministry’s statement said, citing statistics from Indian customs. China, Malaysia and Japan were the top three solar importers to India last year, the statistics showed. India is the world’s third-largest solar market after China and the US.
AVIATION
China Airlines wins award
China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) yesterday said it had been named “Best Airline in North Asia” for the fifth year in a row in a survey by travel magazine Global Traveler earlier this month. The airline has embraced constant innovation in aviation technology, safety, convenience, comfort and entertainment, according to the survey, which is now in its 14th year. Also the winner of the “Best Business-Class Seat Design” award for the third consecutive year, the carrier would be especially appealing to business travelers, the magazine said. The airline said it is working to expand its global network. The firm plans to launch non-stop flights between Taipei and Ontario, California, in the spring.
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],”