DaimlerChrysler presents goals
DaimlerChrysler AG is aiming to sell 5,500 Mercedes-Benz vehicles, 750 Chrysler cars and 700 Smart compacts in Taiwan this year, Volker Harms, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Taiwan Ltd, said yesterday at a press gathering. Harms said Mercedes-Benz still maintained a very strong position in the local passenger car market last year, with positive reaction toward its re-modeled E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans. As for Smart cars, the company is scheduled to introduce two new Smart Roadster models -- the simple Roadster and the Roadster-Coupe -- in April to boost sales, Harms said. Retail prices for the two new models were not disclosed yesterday. DaimlerChrysler sold nearly 5,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 700 Chrysler-brand cars in Taiwan last year. It started selling Smart cars here in August and has sold 195 units so far this year. To meet a small but growing appetites for super luxury vehicles, the company is also planning to add Maybach brand vehicles into its product lineup later this year, Harms said.
Formosa Plastics back on track
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the flagship of Taiwan's largest industrial group, posted a fourth-quarter profit of NT$2.6 billion (US$75 million), compared with a loss a year earlier. The company had a net loss of NT$765 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. For the whole of 2002, profit rose 48 percent to NT$9.9 billion from NT$6.7 billion a year earlier, the company said. The company also said it plans to issue 1.55 million new shares, worth NT$68 million at the current market price, to take full ownership of affiliate Yung Chia Chemical Industries Corp (永嘉化工).
AU makes first 5G 26-inch LCD
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation's largest manufacturer of flat panels, announced yesterday that it successfully produced a 26-inch liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV panel on Feb. 27. The panel was produced using fifth-generation (5G) technology, which allows flat-panel manufacturers to cut bigger screens than was previously possible. In a statement, the company said it would produce its first 30-inch LCD panel in the second quarter and a 46-inch panel by the third quarter. AU's statement did not say when the company would go into mass production of the new 5G panels.
CMC Magnetics records 4Q loss
CMC Magnetics Corp (中環), the world's second-largest maker of recordable compact discs, turned to a net loss of NT$195 million (US$5.6 million) in the fourth quarter from profit of NT$704 million in the year-earlier quarter, as overseas expansion and failed investments eroded profit. For last year, CMC Magnetics turned to a loss of NT$180 million from net income of NT$3.3 billion in 2001, it said in a statement.
SEZ exits wet-bench business
Swiss-based chip-making equipment manufacturer, SEZ Group, announced yesterday that it plans to exit the wet-bench business to refocus its resources on single-wafer wet surface preparation technology. "This move will not affect any current business or future strategy in Taiwan," Fred Kranich, managing director of SEZ Taiwan Co, said yesterday. "Our wet bench division is so far focused on Europe and does not have a base in Taiwan where SEZ's market share in single-wafer technology [wet wafer surface preparation] is over 80 percent," Kranich said. "This move is also in line with a trend to single-wafer processing in mass production as pioneered in Taiwan's high end fabs."
NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against its US counterpart, dropping NT$0.053 to close at NT$34.668 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$385 million.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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