Former premier Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday clarified that he would not be working to help promote government policies in his new role as chairman of TTY Biopharm Co (台灣東洋藥品).
He said that his efforts would be focused on elevating TTY Biopharm’s profile in international markets, and that success of the nation’s biotechnology sector is not dependent on any single company.
Market observers have been upbeat on Lin’s appointment to the helm of the pharmaceutical company, on expectations that he would work as a proponent of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “five plus two” innovative industries plan, which includes the biotechnology sector.
As the Executive Yuan is not a regulator of industries, his appointment does not violate conflict of interest rules nor the revolving-door policy for government workers, Lin said at a news conference in Taipei.
“Not every former government worker aims to become a ‘guardian deity’ for businesses as they transition to the private sector,” Lin said.
Amid rapid consolidation among the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies, Taiwanese biotechnology firms must be able to differentiate and distinguish themselves by specializing in a few chosen fields, he said.
Lin said that he and TTY Biopharm president Clark Hsiao (蕭英鈞) have set their sights on growing the firm’s revenue 10-fold to US$1 billion.
The company reported that sales last year rose 8.8 percent annually to NT$4.09 billion (US$138.39 million), driven by rising shipments of chemotherapy drugs from its contract manufacturing business.
Net income last year rose 7.5 percent annually to NT$1.35 billion, with earnings per share of NT$5.43, setting a new record high, the company said.
TTY Biopharm shares yesterday surged 8 percent to NT$109 before settling at NT$105.50, a 5 percent increase.
Lin’s appointment also spurred on rallies for several other biotechnology stocks during yesterday’s session, dealers said.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
RSS