■ Electronics
Acer denies Siemens tie-up
Acer Inc, the nation's third biggest computer company, isn't in talks with Siemens AG, Germany's largest electronics company, over a mobile-phone tie-up, said Henry Wang, an Acer spokesman. The Taipei-based company has no plans to buy the German company's mobile-phone unit or hire it to make mobile phones, Wang said. "We won't rule out tapping the mobile-phone market, but our core business is computers and that will continue to be our focus," he said. German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday that Acer was in advanced talks with Siemens. Citing people familiar with the situation that it didn't identify, the paper said Acer wasn't the only company in talks with Siemens. The mobile-phone unit of Munich-based Siemens is set to lose 125 million euros (US$163 million) in its fiscal second quarter, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. A Siemens spokesman declined to comment.
■ Privatization
Land Bank stake to be sold
Taiwan's government plans to sell a 13.5 percent stake in state-run Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) for the listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in August, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, citing a Ministry of Finance proposal. The ministry plans to sell a 5.4 percent stake in Land Bank to its workers and 8.1 percent to the public, the report said. Taiwan plans to sell another stake in the lender following its listing to overseas investors, the report said. The government plans to price the shares for at least NT$20 (US$0.63) each, Aaron Chou , head of the Land Bank's planning department said in November.
■ Manufacturing
Forty share dormitory toilet
Operators of a foreign workers' dormitory have been told to clean up by tomorrow or face action after occupants complained 40 men were sharing one toilet and up to 10 were sleeping in rooms the size of bus shelters. The dormitory, housing at least 3,000 workers, is operated by GoldStrong Technology, which can be fined a maximum of S$10,000 (US$6,097) if it does not comply. The dorm became the focus of attention on Friday after Yeo Guat Kwang, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, was shut out by GoldStrong management when he went to investigate the complaints of dire living conditions. National Environment Agency rules stipulate that toilets must not be shared by more than 15 people and each worker should have 3m2 of space.
■ Telecoms
Qwest sweetens MCI offer
Qwest Communications International Inc has upped its offer for MCI Inc by US$800 million to fend off a rival offer from Verizon, news reports said on Friday. The new cash-and-stock offer, the third time Qwest has raised its bid, values MCI at US$9.7 billion and breaks down to US$30 per share. It also includes an additional US$1 billion in committed financing to ease concerns about whether the combined company would have the financial resources to compete, Qwest chief executive Richard Notebaert said in a letter to MCI's board. The latest bid, described as Qwest's "best and final," will be withdrawn if it is not declared superior by Virginia-based MCI by 3pm today, he said. The offer came two weeks after the MCI board for the second time accepted an offer from Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon's latest bid was a US$7.5 billion cash-and-stock offer, valued at US$23.10 a share.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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