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.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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