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.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure