Toshiba Corp, Japan's biggest chipmaker, will speed up plans to increase production of flash chips by about six months to meet demand from mobile-phone makers. The stock headed for its highest close in almost seven years.
The chipmaker will process 60,000 wafers a month, compared with its original target of 35,000, at its fourth plant in Yokkaichi, central Japan, by the end of June next year, spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said today, confirming a Nikkei Shimbun business report.
This compared with a previous schedule for the quarter ending December next year, Ohmori said.
Toshiba, however, said it now expects to sell 1 million high-definition DVD players in North America by the end of this year, lowering its previous estimate of 1.8 million units.
Toshiba shares gained ?5, or 0.5 percent, to ?948. The company was the second most-actively traded stock by value, with ?63.4 billion (US$521 million) in shares changing hands.
The new schedule suggested that Toshiba, the world's second-largest flash-memory chipmaker, and Milpitas, California-based partner SanDisk Corp, believe demand for the chips used to store songs and video in music players, game consoles and digital cameras is picking up.
The Tokyo-based company fulfills only 60 percent to 70 percent of its orders for the chips, Ohmori said.
The flash-memory market "has stabilized since the spring, and that helped" Toshiba's stock, said Hideyuki Suzuki, an analyst at SBI Securities Co in Tokyo. "I wouldn't be surprised if the share price reaches ?1,000 in [the] short term."
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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