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.
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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