■ Memory Chips
ProMOS plans bond sale
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), Taiwan's third-biggest maker of computer memory chips, plans to raise US$300 million in a convertible bond sale to fund expanded production. The company can increase the sale by US$50 million should investor demand warrant, according to a sale document sent to investors. Investors can exchange the five-year zero-coupon bonds for ProMOS shares at a 15 percent to 21 percent premium to Friday's closing price of NT$12.35, it said. ProMOS plans to spend US$7 billion in the next three years adding two plants in the central part of the nation.
■ Holiday Travel
Mandarin flights start soon
Mandarin Airlines (華信航空), a subsidiary of Taiwan-based China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), will launch Lunar New Year direct cross-strait charter flight services on Tuesday with a Taipei-Shanghai round-trip flight, a CAL spokesman said yesterday. CAL and Mandarin Airlines will provide a total of 16 charter flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan and Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China from Tuesday to Feb. 25. CAL will launch its first flight, also a Taipei-Shanghai round-trip flight, on Wednesday, and its first Kaohsiung-Shanghai round-trip flight on Feb. 16.
■ Online piracy
Flask copier wins golden pig
Germany on Friday handed a mock award -- a black dwarf with a golden nose -- to a Chinese manufacturer, among others, to draw attention to the growing threat of piracy around the globe. The Chinese manufacturer, He Shan Jia Hui Vacuum Flask & Vessel, has "brazenly copied" a made-in-Germany coffee thermos, said Germany's organization against plagiarism, which hands out such awards annually. "Product piracy threatens our economic growth and jobs," German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said at a ceremony in Frankfurt. The golden nose of the dwarf, which is dubbed "Plagiarius," refers to a German proverb that refers to making a lot of money without hard work.
■ Gas appliances
Rinnai checks water heaters
Rinnai Corp, Japan's largest manufacturer of gas appliances, said yesterday that it had begun providing free inspections of its water heaters throughout Japan following a series of carbon monoxide poisonings linked to three deaths and 12 other injuries, officials said. The three deaths occurred since October 2003, including the most recent case this week in Kanagawa, just south of Tokyo, and the 12 injuries were reported between January 2000 and December 2004, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a press release issued late on Friday. Rinnai said the models are sold only in Japan.
■ Cellphones
Hutchison Essar mulls bids
Britain's Vodafone Group PLC and India's Reliance Communications have put in bids to buy Hutchison Essar Ltd, one of India's leading cellphone companies, news reports said yesterday. The board of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd -- a holding company of Hong Kong based Hutchison Whampoa that owns a controlling 67 percent stake in the Indian company -- is expected to meet today to discuss the bidding process, the Hindustan Times newspaper said. Essar Group, an Indian major with businesses ranging from shipping to energy and which controls the remaining 33 percent stake in Hutchison Essar, has also put in its bid, the newspaper said.
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
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