CHIPMAKERS
TSMC starts making ‘A12’
Apple Inc manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has started mass production of a next-generation processor for new iPhones launching later this year, people familiar with the matter said. The processor, likely to be called the “A12,” is to use a 7-nanometer design that can be smaller, faster and more efficient than the 10-nanometer chips in current Apple smartphones, the people said. Samsung Electronics Co, Apple’s biggest competitor, on Tuesday said that it is working on adding its own 7-nanometer chips to its new smartphones this year. Apple is also trying to get ahead of 7-nanometer designs from Qualcomm Inc, the biggest maker of mobile phone chips.
EQUITIES
TAIEX falls on trade friction
Local shares yesterday moved lower as investors pocketed earlier gains amid renewed concern over trade friction between the US and China after US President Donald Trump said overnight that he was “not satisfied” with trade talks with China last week, dealers said. Selling focused on large-cap stocks in the electronics and non-high-tech sectors, which pushed down the broader market to less than 10,900 points, while rotational buying lifted select biotech stocks, although their contribution failed to return the main board into positive territory, the dealers said. The TAIEX ended down 52.55 points, or 0.48 percent, at the day’s low of 10,886.18, off an early high of 10,991.86, on turnover of NT$137.57 billion (US$4.59 billion).
RESOURCES
Water rationing proposed
The Water Resources Agency yesterday recommended that first-stage water rationing measures be introduced in Tainan and Penghu County due to the lower-than-usual levels of precipitation in southern Taiwan. The proposed measures include reducing water pressure at night and suspending unnecessary use of water by government agencies and state-owned businesses. They would have a minimal effect on water use by private businesses, the agency said, adding that once irrigation work is completed at the end of this month, the demand for water should be alleviated. The agency is assessing the need for temporary desalination plants in Penghu to meet water demand as it enters its peak tourism period.
ELECTRONICS
Yageo drops on acquisition
Shares of Yageo Corp (國巨), a leading global passive component supplier, were late yesterday morning under pressure after soaring early in the session on news that the company is to acquire US-based Pulse Electronics, dealers said. By noon, Yageo shares had fallen 10 percent, the maximum daily decline, to NT$877, as investors locked in gains from speculation on the pending acquisition. Yageo shares closed down 9.34 percent at NT$833. Before yesterday’s pullback, Yageo shares had soared about 55 percent since the beginning of this month.
PHARMACEUTICALS
PharmaEssentia shares rise
Shares in PharmaEssentia Corp (藥華醫藥) yesterday gained 1.75 percent to close at NT$174 after the company announced that Ropeginterferon alfa-2b, its new blood cancer drug, is a suitable treatment for patients of all ages, including those older than 60. Patients of all ages experienced fewer side effects compared with competing treatments, the company said in a report on a clinical trial for the drug to the European Hematology Association.
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],”