BenQ Corp (明基), Taiwan's biggest mobile phone maker, yesterday said it would not inject any fresh capital into its German mobile phone unit to stem unsustainable losses since it took over Siemens AG's money-losing handset division a year ago.
Munich-based BenQ Mobile GmbH & Co OHG, fully owned by Taipei-based BenQ, was considering filing for insolvency protection, the company said at a press briefing yesterday. The European unit may be disbanded if losses continue to widen, according to BenQ.
The German unit has offices in Bocholt and Munich and a factory in Kamp-Lintfort. But BenQ stressed that it would continue selling BenQ-Siemens mobile phones made in its Chinese factories.
The news came after BenQ posted NT$13.52 billion (US$409.8 million) in losses since it absorbed Siemens' handset unit last October.
"Despite the progress achieved in reducing costs and expenses, widening losses have made this very painful decision unavoidable," BenQ chairman Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀) told reporters in Taipei yesterday.
Lee said BenQ had a lot of problems that were beyond its control as the company failed to hit financial targets, and it wouldn't be easy for BenQ to limit the massive losses in the short term.
Last month, BenQ told investors that it would postpone the break-even point to the middle of next year at the earliest after failing to significantly narrow losses in the second quarter.
"We believe we can still turn the mobile phone unit around, but we have to invest lots of money to make that possible," Lee said.
"That would put the company under heavy financial pressure, so we have to do some risk management," Lee explained.
BenQ's board decided yesterday to suspend the US$400 million it had planned to inject into the German subsidiary last month. BenQ, which also makes notebook computers, DVD recorders and digital projectors, has already injected 600 million euros into the German handset unit.
Eric Yu (
"The move will have a positive effect on BenQ as it will stem losses," said Vincent Chen (
BenQ shares have plummeted 36 percent on the Taiwan Stock Exchange from NT$28.4 last October to NT$18.2 yesterday. In Germany, shares of Infineon Technologies AG plunged by 3.1 percent to 9.41 euros after BenQ, its client, announced the insolvency protection plan.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source