ENERGY
Taipower reiterates plan
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) on Tuesday last week reiterated its plan to reduce the emission of pollutants by half by 2030. The state-run utility has sought to achieve the goal gradually, by reducing emissions by 30 percent by 2021, by 40 percent by 2025, and by half by 2050. It also plans to reduce net emissions from its fossil fuel power plants by 7 percent by 2021, establish at least three “green fusion” power plants by 2025 and create a complete system of circular economy by 2030, it said.
PANELMAKERS
CPT to be delisted
Loss-incurring flat-panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT, 中華映管) is to be delisted from the main board on May 13 after its book value plunged into negative territory, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said on Monday last week. The last trading day for Chunghwa Picture Tubes is May 10, the TWSE said. Chunghwa Picture Tubes is to become the second subsidiary of Tatung Co (大同) to be removed from the main board after Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), which is expected to be delisted after April 30.
ELECTRONICS
King Yuan benefits from 5G
King Yuan Electronics Co (京元電) on Friday said revenue in the first quarter of this year rose 14.83 percent annually to NT$5.26 billion (US$170.7 million) on the back of increased demand for chips used in 5G-related applications and devices, as well as contribution from Dawning Leading Technology Inc (東琳), which it acquired in November last year. Analysts have forecast the IC testing service provider’s revenue this year to grow by a double-digit percentage from NT$20.82 billion last year.
BUSINESS UPDATE: The iPhone assembler said operations outlook is expected to show quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth for the second quarter Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday reported strong growth in sales last month, potentially raising expectations for iPhone sales while artificial intelligence (AI)-related business booms. The company, which assembles the majority of Apple Inc’s smartphones, reported a 19.03 percent rise in monthly sales to NT$510.9 billion (US$15.78 billion), from NT$429.22 billion in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 14.16 percent, it said. The company in a statement said that last month’s revenue was a record-breaking April performance. Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), assembles most iPhones, but the company is diversifying its business to
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Qualcomm Inc, the world’s biggest seller of smartphone processors, gave an upbeat forecast for sales and profit in the current period, suggesting demand for handsets is increasing after a two-year slump. Revenue in the three months ended in June will be US$8.8 billion to US$9.6 billion, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Excluding certain items, earnings will be US$2.15 to US$2.35 a share. Analysts had projected sales of US$9.08 billion and earnings of US$2.16 a share. The outlook signals that the smartphone market has begun to bounce back, tracking with Qualcomm’s forecast that demand would gradually recover this year. The San
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian laborer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms about 15m below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in its smell as its spiky green-brown carapace, and has been farmed in the kingdom for hundreds of years. However, a vicious heat wave engulfing Southeast Asia has resulted in smaller yields and spiraling costs, with growers and sellers increasingly panicked as global warming damages the industry. “This year is a crisis,”