ELECTRONICS
GSEO looks at further growth
Genius Electronic Optical Co (GSEO, 玉晶光), a camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday said it expects revenue growth this year amid improving yield rates, after shareholders approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$3.5 per share. The company said it would keep collaborating with key customers as the industry prepares to enter peak season in the second half of the year. The dividend represents a payout ratio of 33.33 percent based on the company’s earnings per share of NT$10.5 last year, a six-year high.
REAL ESTATE
TFCC profit up 2.6 percent
Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓), owner of Taipei 101, yesterday said that pre-tax profit grew 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first five months of the year, despite fewer Chinese tourists visiting the attraction. Shareholders approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.304 per share, translating into a payout ratio of 89.93 percent based on earnings of NT$1.45 per share last year. A shareholder meeting did not touch on board reshuffles, as Itochu Corp’s acquisition of a 37.17 percent stake in the building from Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) has yet to be approved, TFCC said.
HOSPITALITY
Humble House boss resigns
My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅) chairwoman Ellie Lai (賴英里) yesterday resigned for personal reasons, effective immediately. Lai did not elaborate, but rejected media reports that she planned to introduce external investors to the company. She said she reserved the right to take legal action against the defamatory remarks.
ELECTRONICS
Wistron eyes medical data
Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday said its medical technology unit, Wistron Medical Technology Corp (緯創醫學科技), has signed an agreement with En Chu Kong Hospital in New Taipei City and Maya International Co Ltd (馬雅資訊) to tap the development of digital medical data services. Wistron has provided big data analysis for several hospitals in Taiwan. Last month, it set up a joint venture with Canada-based biorobotic technology developer B-Temia Inc, B-Temia Asia, to bring Keeogo walking assistance devices to Asian markets.
LOGISTICS
Green bonds launched
First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) has helped Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) launch the shipping company’s first green bonds, which were listed yesterday on the local over-the-counter market. The bonds have a maturity of five years with a coupon rate of 0.86 percent, with First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) serving as guarantor and First Securities Inc (第一金證券) acting as bookrunner. Evergreen Marine aims to raise NT$2 billion (US$65.67 million) from the debt issuance.
EDUCATION
Samebest unveils service
Samebest Co Ltd (三貝德數位文創), which develops and distributes digital learning platforms, yesterday announced that it has teamed up with Hon Hai Group’s (鴻海集團) online shopping portal, flnet.tw (富連網), to provide digital learning products to high-school students through smartphones and tablets. The service is expected to begin on Monday, Samebest said, adding that it aims to achieve annual revenue of NT$21 billion, or 12 percent of the nation’s supplementary education market.
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],”