CHIPMAKERS
MediaTek reports merger
Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday announced that its two Singapore-based subsidiaries would merge as part of its reorganization plan. MediaTek Singapore Pte Ltd is to merge with MStar Technology Pte Ltd, with the former being the surviving entity, the company said. The merger is set to take effect on Dec. 31, it said. As the merger does not involve a share swap, dividend payment or any other assets, it would have no effect on MediaTek’s net worth and earnings per share, it said.
MACHINERY
Hiwin revenue declines
Machinery maker Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) on Thursday reported that revenue for last month declined 13.17 percent month-on-month, but increased 12.74 percent year-on-year to NT$2.3 billion (US$74.6 million), with aggregated revenue in the first 11 months rising 45.23 percent annually to NT$27.64 billion, the highest for the period in the company’s history. Morgan Stanley said in a note that the sharp monthly decline would likely result in downside risks for Hiwin’s earnings prospects for this quarter and next year.
AUTOMAKERS
New-car sales increase
Sales of new cars last month rose 2.8 percent month-on-month to 36,011 units, but the figure fell 10.9 percent year-on-year, according to data compiled by the Directorate-General of Highways, which was released on Monday last week. Hotai Motor Co (和泰) continued to lead the market, selling 9,514 Toyota and Lexus-brand vehicles last month, with a market share of 26.4 percent, the data showed. In the first 11 months, total vehicle sales decreased 2.3 percent from a year earlier to 393,142 units, it showed.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to