Taiwan’s technology companies yesterday urged the government to take heed of Broadcom Ltd’s bid to acquire Qualcomm Inc, as the deal could have a significant affect on the sector.
Broadcom in November last year made an unsolicited US$105 billion offer to acquire Qualcomm, launching what would be the largest-ever technology takeover battle.
The deal could affect Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, including chip manufacturing, integrated circuit packaging, as well as information and communications technologies industries, the Allied Association for Science Park Industries said in a statement yesterday.
If combined, the two US companies could control half of the global market share for chips used in consumer electronics, granting them undue influence and bargaining power against suppliers, the association said, adding that this dominance would further pressure the profitability of local technology companies and affect the nation’s growth prospects.
LEVERAGE
The association said that as the deal requires government approval, it should leverage its position to stipulate added conditions to ensure the long-term prospects of local technology companies.
The association also urged the government to help local technology companies tap into opportunities from emerging fields, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the association said.
While Taiwan is well-positioned to supply vital hardware and components, such as flash memory to process data for AI applications, local companies require leadership from the government due to their smaller scale.
The government should take the lead in establishing a platform that would promote vertical collaboration across the supply chain, the association said.
Emerging fields such as AI, 5G networks and automotive electronics require immense investment, so industries must improve collaboration under the government’s guidance and assistance, it said.
ABOLISH LIMITS
The association advised the government to increase wages and research funding for university professors and researchers to cultivate and retain talent.
Association members support the Ministry of Science and Technology’s plans to abolish limits on wages for research assistants and for researchers to be paid up to NT$300,000, it said.
Businesses also need incentives to retain talent, such as improved tax rules on profit-sharing arrangements and dividend income, lest their best staff be poached by Chinese rivals, the association said.
However, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hsu Yu-chin (許有進) said that as the two chipmakers are not Taiwanese companies, the government can express its opinion, but has no authority to stop the acquisition.
The government is monitoring the deal and would continue to help in elevating the capabilities of local technology companies to preserve their bargaining power with buyers, Hsu said.
WASHINGTON’S INCENTIVES: The CHIPS Act set aside US$39 billion in direct grants to persuade the world’s top semiconductor companies to make chips on US soil The US plans to award more than US$6 billion to Samsung Electronics Co, helping the chipmaker expand beyond a project in Texas it has already announced, people familiar with the matter said. The money from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act would be one of several major awards that the US Department of Commerce is expected to announce in the coming weeks, including a grant of more than US$5 billion to Samsung’s rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), people familiar with the plans said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity in advance of the official announcements. The federal funding for
HIGH DEMAND: The firm has strong capabilities of providing key components including liquid cooling technology needed for AI servers, chairman Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday revised its revenue outlook for this year to “significant” growth from a “neutral” view forecast five months ago, due to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers from cloud service providers. Hon Hai, a major assembler of iPhones that is also known as Foxconn, expects AI server revenues to soar more than 40 percent annually this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) told investors. The robust growth would uplift revenue contribution from AI servers to 40 percent of the company’s overall server revenue this year, from 30 percent last year, Liu said. In the three-year period
LONG HAUL: Largan Energy Materials’ TNO-based lithium-ion batteries are expected to charge in five minutes and last about 20 years, far surpassing conventional technology Largan Precision Co (大立光) has formed a joint venture with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to produce fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobile electronics and electric storage units, the camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones said yesterday. Largan Energy Materials Co (萬溢能源材料), established in January, is developing high-energy, fast-charging, long-life lithium-ion batteries using titanium niobium oxide (TNO) anodes, it said. TNO-based batteries can be fully charged in five minutes and have a lifespan of 20 years, a major advantage over the two to four hours of charging time needed for conventional graphite-anode-based batteries, Largan said in a
Taiwan is one of the first countries to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but because that is largely down to a single company it also represents a risk, former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) said at an AI forum in Taipei yesterday. Speaking at the forum on how generative AI can generate possibilities for all walks of life, Chien said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — currently among the world’s 10 most-valuable companies due to continued optimism about AI — ensures Taiwan is one of the economies to benefit most from AI. “This is because AI is