Citing waning sales and intensifying competition over the past few years, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) yesterday tendered his resignation to make way for a new leadership structure consisting of two CEOs, S.Y. Hsu (許先越) and Samsun Hu (胡書賓), who formerly served as vice presidents at the company.
The company’s board of directors has approved the leadership shake-up, which is to take effect on Jan. 1.
Shen is to lead iFast (創捷前瞻), a new artificial intelligence and Internet of Things start-up focusing on finding new applications for products ranging from smartphones to smart home appliances.
Photo: CNA
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) is to remain in his position.
The arrangement is aimed at overhauling the culture at Asustek, Shen said, adding that he would have much more room to innovate at the helm of a small start-up.
Asustek said it plans to take a 30 percent stake in iFast, investing up to NT$10 billion (US$324.15 million), and hopes to become a notable player in the field in three year’s time.
The company also announced a major overhaul of its smartphone business to focus on gamers and power users, following a decline from its heyday when it found success in products such as Eee PC laptops, the Nexus 7 tablet and Zenbook laptops.
However, the restructuring would result in a one-time loss of NT$6.2 billion to account for loss of inventory, royalties, production costs and organizational adjustment expenses, it said.
While the expense would push this quarter’s results into the red, the company would remain profitable this year and be able to meet its cash dividend, Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told a news conference.
“We are going back to our roots as a premium brand and are moving to a higher price tier,” Shih said.
Shih said that the company’s focus is on creating compelling products with excellent quality, and that one of its first steps is to build on the warm reception of its ROG gaming smartphone, and leverage its Republic of Gamers brand and gaming solutions.
“We are aiming to match the Apple iPhone and Google Pixel in terms of user experience,” Shih said, adding that the high prices of those models have not helped their sales, as the global smartphone market is becoming increasingly saturated.
Consumers should begin to see the company’s revamped product lineup around the middle of next year, Shih said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
Taiwan’s long-term economic competitiveness will hinge not only on national champions like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) but also on the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, a US-based scholar has said. At a lecture in Taipei on Tuesday, Jeffrey Ding, assistant professor of political science at the George Washington University and author of "Technology and the Rise of Great Powers," argued that historical experience shows that general-purpose technologies (GPTs) — such as electricity, computers and now AI — shape long-term economic advantages through their diffusion across the broader economy. "What really matters is not who pioneers
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
RSS