MANUFACTURING
IEK lowers output forecast
The Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK, 產業經濟與趨勢研究中心) yesterday lowered its forecast for the local manufacturing sector’s production value growth, taking into account trade friction between the US and China. The output of the manufacturing sector is expected to grow 3.27 percent annually to NT$18.89 trillion (US$616.68 billion) this year, the center said. Taiwanese manufacturers should diversify their production bases and keep a close eye on fluctuations on the global foreign exchange market, it said. In April, the center estimated a 3.29 percent output increase by local manufacturers.
OPTICAL
Firms to expand capacity
Catalyzed by a trend toward multiple lenses in smartphones and surging demand for telematics, demand for lenses has soared amid severe undersupply. In response to demand from clients, several local lens makers — Largan Precision Co (大立光), Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光), Newmax Technology Co (新鉅科), Calin Technology Co (佳凌), Glory Science Co Ltd (光燿科) and Ability Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd (先進光) — are expected to substantially expand their capacities, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing industry sources. The overall capacity of local lens makers was forecast to increase 50 percent to 100 percent over the next three years, the newspaper said.
STORAGE
Ritek to trim paid-in capital
Ritek Corp (錸德), the nation’s leading optical disc maker, on Wednesday said that it plans to reduce its paid-in capital by 27.31 percent from NT$17.67 billion to NT$12.84 billion to improve its capital structure and offset accumulated losses. The capital reduction was scheduled to take effect yesterday. Ritek shares yesterday rose 3.36 percent, compared with the broader market’s 0.07 percent decline, and have risen 230.47 percent this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
CHIPMAKERS
Winbond issues bonds
Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), the world’s third-largest NOR flash memorychip supplier, has issued NT$10 billion of secured ordinary corporate bonds, the nation’s largest bond issuance of its kind this year. The bonds carry a fixed rate of 1 percent per annum and the proceeds would be used to finance capital expenditure, repay bank loans and increase working capital, Winbond said on Tuesday. The company plans to build a new fab in Kaohsiung costing NT$355 billion, as its 12-inch fab in the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung is expected to reach full production capacity next year.
SOLAR ENERGY
India duty could spur sales
India’s plan to cut imports of Chinese solar cells and modules by imposing a safeguard duty might have the opposite effect in the short term, ICBC International Research Ltd (工銀國際證券) said yesterday. Stockpiles could rise rapidly as Indian developers hoard more modules before the proposal to impose a 25 percent safeguard tariff is expected to take effect in the next two to three months, the firm said in a note. Taiwanese solar cell and module makers would be covered by India’s safeguard duty, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said on Wednesday. Taiwan sold US$92.07 million of solar cells and modules to India last year, only 2.23 percent of the South Asian country’s total imports, the bureau said.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said the DRAM supply crunch could extend through 2028, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has led the world’s major memory makers to dramatically reduce production of standard DRAM and allocate a significant portion of their capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The most severe supply constraints would stretch to the first half of next year due to “very limited” increases in new DRAM capacity worldwide, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a news briefing. The company plans to increase monthly 12-inch wafer capacity to 20,000 in the first half of 2028 after a
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
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