GVC's trading investigated
GVC Corp (致福) said prosecutors are investigating trading of its stock in the first four months of last year, when shares in the maker of computer components more than doubled. The stock then tumbled 40 percent before GVC sold unit Alpha-Top Corp (致勝科技) to Elitegroup Computer Systems Co (精英電腦) in August last year. The Liberty Times, which reported the probe earlier, said GVC Chairman Raymond Soong had been summoned on Friday for questioning, as had Vice Chairman Luo Chieh-hsiung and two other executives. "The case is now under investigation and Lite-On Group (光寶集團) will cooperate with the investigators," GVC spokesman Huang Meng-hua said. He declined to confirm whether Soong was involved in the investigation or had been questioned by prosecutors. Should any GVC executives be convicted of insider trading, they may be jailed for as long as seven years, disrupting company operations. Soong is also chairman of computer components maker Lite-On Electronics Inc., GVC's parent. GVC stock fell 5.2 percent to NT$20.2 as of 12:14 p.m. in Taipei. Lite-On Electronics fell 4.4 percent to NT$34.40. Lite-On Technology Corp. shares fell 5.1 percent to NT$56. Stock in Lite- On unit Silitek Corp. fell 5.6 percent to NT$50.5.
Taiwan Cellular profit rises
Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), the nation's second-largest mobile-phone provider, posted an 8 percent increase in second-quarter profit as it increased subscribers after acquiring a rival last year. Profit rose to NT$4.2 billion (US$123 million) from NT$3.9 billion a year earlier. The second-quarter profit was derived from first-half earnings, which rose 11 percent to NT$8.8 billion Taiwan Cellular, facing a market where there are as many mobile phones as people, increased subscribers by acquiring rival Transasia Telecom-munications Inc (泛亞電信) in June last year. Taiwan Cellular users in the year to June 30 rose 7.7 percent in the year to June 30 to 5.6 million, with Transasia accounting for about 20 percent, analysts said. Transasia's subscriber base has almost doubled since Taiwan Cellular acquired it," said Helen Zhu, an analyst with ABN Amro Asia Ltd. "Transasia has been doing phenomenally well." This is the first time Taiwan Cellular is consolidating Tranasia's earnings with its own, said Irene Chi, a Taiwan Cellular spokesman. Sales in the first half fell to NT$23.6 billion from NT$24.5 billion.
Chi Mei denies share sale plan
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美光電), Taiwan's No. 2 flat-panel display maker, denied a report that it decided to sell as much as NT$20 billion ($585 million) in shares to fund a factory. "There is a capital need, and we are evaluating all sources of financing open to us including selling shares, syndicated loans and selling convertible bonds," said Finance Manager Eddie Chen, who's in charge of submitting financing proposals to management. "No decision has been made on a share sale." The local media last week cited unidentified company officials saying the company may sell new shares overseas by December to help fund a factory. Chi Mei and rivals such as AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) are expanding to satisfy demand for the screens used in televisions and computers. Chen declined to give a timetable for when the funds will be raised.
NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, dropping NT$0.106 to close at NT$34.245. The turnover was US$590 million.
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
Apple Inc has been developing a homegrown chip to run artificial intelligence (AI) tools in data centers, although it is unclear if the semiconductor would ever be deployed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The effort would build on Apple’s previous efforts to make in-house chips, which run in its iPhones, Macs and other devices, according to the Journal, which cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The server project is code-named ACDC (Apple Chips in Data Center) within the company, aiming to utilize Apple’s expertise in chip design for the company’s server infrastructure, the newspaper said. While this initiative has been
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that revenue would rise moderately in the second half of this year, driven primarily by robust demand for advanced wafers used in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. “The first quarter is the lowest point of this cycle. The second half will be better than the first for the whole semiconductor industry and for GlobalWafers,” chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭) said during an online investors’ conference. “HBM would definitely be the key growth driver in the second half,” Hsu said. “That is our big hope
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,”