TECHNOLOGY
Innolux schedules buyback
LCD panelmaker Innolux Corp (群創) said it plans to launch another share buyback in an attempt to safeguard shareholders’ interests. The Miaoli-based company would repurchase 300 million common shares, or 3 percent of its total outstanding shares, for NT$3.14 billion (US$99.98 million) at the most, it said yesterday. Innolux proposes to repurchase shares at NT$4.93 to NT$10.47 per share, according to a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The share buyback is to be conducted over the next two months, finishing on Oct. 20, it added. The share buyback is the company’s second this year after repurchasing 80 million shares for NT$619 million last month.
BANKING
TBB to sell 418.41m shares
State-run Taiwan Business Bank (TBB, 台灣企銀) on Monday said that its board of directors agreed to sell 418.41 million new shares to the National Development Fund at NT$11.95 per share via a private placement. The deal is expected to help the bank raise NT$5 billion in new capital, which it plans to use to improve its capital structure, while meeting the needs of future development, TBB said in a regulatory filing. The record date of capital increase is set for Friday next week, the filing said. The bank currently has a paid-in capital of NT$63.94 billion. TBB shares yesterday closed down 0.4 percent at NT$12.45 in Taipei trading.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai’s US plant advances
Construction on Hon Hai Precision Industry Co’s (鴻海精密) flat-panel facility in Wisconsin has reached a new stage, with vertical construction having begun, the company said on Monday. Hon Hai said in a statement that the first of 400 precast panels, weighing up to 34 tonnes each, that are to form the frame of the 92,300m2 sixth-generation flat-screen complex has been installed. The plant is the centerpiece of the company’s US$10 billion investment in the Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park, which aims to transform Wisconsin into a high-tech hub.
AUTO PARTS
CFTC’s net income falls 20%
Automotive parts supplier China Fineblanking Technology Co (CFTC, 和勤精機) reported that second-quarter net income fell 20.48 percent annually to NT$33.49 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.45. Revenue declined 17.42 percent annually to NT$537.58 million, due to a sluggish Chinese vehicle market. The company plans to invest NT$944 million on renovating production lines at the Chuangsing Industrial Park (全興工業區) in Changhua County’s Hemei Township (和美), it said last week. The company said that it also plans to set up a new center to research products used in electric vehicles, high-end bicycles and the aviation industry.
HOSPITALITY
Bencotto given wine award
The Mandarin Oriental Taipei (文華東方酒店) has won global recognition for the wine collection at its Italian restaurant Bencotto, as the luxury facility endeavors to stay ahead in an increasingly crowded market, the hotel said yesterday. Bencotto has won Wine Spectator magazine’s Award of Excellence for offering an extensive selection with vintage depth and excellent breadth across multiple regions, it said. The honor came a few months after the hotel’s Cantonese restaurant Ya Ge (雅閣) was again recognized with one star for its culinary skills from Michelin Guide Taipei.
DEAL LIKELY DEAD: As takeovers of semiconductor firms become national security issues amid a global microchip shortage, deals are becoming more difficult GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) failed to reach a breakthrough in a last-ditch bid to salvage its planned takeover of Siltronic AG, likely spelling the collapse of the US$5 billion deal. The Taiwanese technology company did not resolve the government’s concerns during a private meeting between GlobalWafers chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) and German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action State Secretary Udo Philipp, people familiar with the matter said. Siltronic shares tumbled as much as 4.7 percent on the news on Friday, extending the stock’s decline for the year to more than 20 percent. While the ministry continues to examine the deal,
The US Department of Commerce on Tuesday said that a global survey of semiconductor chip producers and users shows a shortage will persist, sparked primarily by wafer production capacity constraints. The voluntary survey of 150 companies last fall in the supply chain confirmed “there is a significant, persistent mismatch in supply and demand for chips, and respondents did not see the problem going away in the next six months.” US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters that the department “in a few instances didn’t really get what we needed and we’re going to go company by company and do personal engagement
BOOMING ORDERS: As orders move away from neighboring countries such as India, Pakistan’s economic bright spot has found new customers in South America and Africa Pakistan’s textile sector is bringing cheer to its flailing economy, with exports set to swell to a record after gaining an edge over South Asian rivals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Textile exports are poised to surge 40 percent from a year earlier to a record US$21 billion in the 12 months ending in June, said Abdul Razak Dawood, commerce adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister. Dawood said that the figure would expand to US$26 billion in the next fiscal year, surpassing the nation’s total exports last year, he said. The textiles industry — which supplies everything from denim jeans to towels for buyers
Samsung Electronics Co is stepping up spending on advanced chipmaking technology as it sees growing demand for its smartphones, displays and memory products. South Korea’s largest company reported 43.6 trillion won (US$36.17 billion) in semiconductor capital expenditure last year, eclipsing rivals as it acquired extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines to pursue an aggressive expansion of its most lucrative memory and system chipmaking. It expects a recovery in server and PC memory demand, and said foldables are already helping its sales growth, although declined to offer a forecast due to the high degree of uncertainty around supply chains and the COVID-19 pandemic. Samsung