E-COMMERCE
Revenue soars to NT$3.54tn
The nation’s e-commerce sector saw revenue soar 73.8 percent between 2011 and 2016 to NT$3.54 trillion (US$118 billion) because of a growing range of apps and an explosion in the number of mobile devices, according to a survey conducted every five years by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). E-commerce sales in 2016 represented about 5.8 percent of the total revenue generated by the local manufacturing and service sectors, the DGBAS said on Friday last week. The manufacturing sector accounted for 73.7 percent of total e-commerce sales in 2016, mainly through business-to-business (B2B) sales, while the service sector made up the remaining 26.3 percent, it said. B2B online transactions totaled NT$3.01 trillion in 2016, while revenue generated through business to consumers online transactions totaled NT$525.74 billion, it added.
CHIPMAKERS
Samsung overtakes Intel
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) remained the world’s third-largest integrated circuit supplier in the first quarter, as the company’s sales grew 13 percent to US$8.47 billion from a year earlier, according to IC Insights. Samsung Electronics Co replaced Intel Corp as the world’s biggest semiconductor supplier in the first quarter after its sales rose 43 percent year-on-year to US$19.40 billion, ahead of Intel’s US$15.83 billion, IC Insights said. SK Hynix Inc and Micron Technology Inc ranked fourth and fifth with sales of US$8.14 billion and US$7.36 billion respectively, followed by Broadcom Inc (US$4.59 billion), Qualcomm Inc (US$3.90 billion), Toshiba Corp (US$3.83 billion), Texas Instruments Inc (US$3.57 billion) and Nvidia Inc (US$3.11 billion), it said.
FOOTWEAR
Shui-Mu back in the black
Shui-Mu International Co Ltd (阿瘦實業), which markets and retails own-brand footwear, swung into a profit in the first quarter of this year thanks to efforts to adjust its brands, which helped improve its product mix and led to better profitability. The company, which sells footwear under its brands A.S.O. and BESO, as well as producing footwear for foreign brands, said last week its net profit was NT$11.59 million in the first quarter, or earnings per share of NT$0.17, compared with a net loss of NT$38.41 million a year earlier. Cumulative sales in the first four months totaled NT$564.09 million, up 2.16 percent year-on-year, it said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Enimmune to trial vaccine
Enimmune Corp, a 51 percent-owned subsidiary of vaccine maker Adimmune Corp (國光生技), yesterday announced that it has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to commence multinational phase III clinical trials of its enterovirus 71 vaccine. Enimmune said that it expects to gain marketing approval for the vaccine from the regulator by 2020.
ENERGY
CPC signs battery deal
State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) yesterday inked a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s TDK and Taiwanese battery and charging network developer Eternalergy (碩城科技) to form a joint venture to develop batteries for electric scooters. The two Taiwanese companies are expected to take a controlling stake in the subsidiary, with CPC to hold a majority 49 percent stake, the state-run company said. CPC said that it plans to supply lithium titanate and other materials, and build batteries based on TDK’s research to tap Southeast Asian markets.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
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