ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai sales hit record
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Friday reported consolidated sales of NT$395.59 billion (US$12.9 billion) for last month, the highest for the month in the company’s history. The figures were 1.46 percent higher than the previous month and up 25.56 percent from a year earlier, Hon Hai said. In the first seven months of this year, cumulative revenue totaled NT$2.504 trillion, up 13.34 percent from a year earlier. Computing products were the main sales drivers during the period, followed by consumer electronics and communication products, it said.
INVESTMENT
Fund outflows continue
Foreign institutional investors last month recorded a net fund outflow of US$2.53 billion, marking the fourth consecutive month of net outflows amid concerns over an escalating trade war between the US and China, the Financial Supervisory Commission said. In addition to unfavorable external factors, foreign institutional investors also repatriated funds after receiving hefty cash dividends from their investments in local stocks, the commission said. In the first seven months of this year, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$264.96 billion in local shares, it said.
MACROECONOMICS
CPI up 1.75% on tax hike
The nation’s consumer price index (CPI) last month rose 1.75 percent from a year earlier due largely to a spike in the prices of tobacco and betel nuts caused by a tax hike, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Tuesday last week. Excluding fruit, vegetables and energy, core CPI increased 1.5 percent year-on-year, it said. In the first seven months of this year, CPI increased 1.65 percent annually, it said.
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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