Local telecoms operator Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinese handset maker Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co, Ltd (宇龍) to supply handsets.
The telecoms carrier is the nation’s only telephone company offering wireless telecoms services on code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000-based technology. Yulong Computer, based in Shenzhen, is the biggest handset supplier to China Telecom, which also provides services using WCDMA, or wideband CDMA technology.
STRATEGIC
The strategic cooperation with Yulong will be part of Asia Pacific Telecom’s broader efforts to expand subscriptions among business users this year.
After three years of restructuring, company chairwoman Sophia Chiu (邱純枝) said: “This year set a new beginning for us. One of our focuses will be improving customer satisfaction. Offering a wide handset selection will be one of these approaches.”
Chiu said the company swung into profits last year, shrugging off financial scandals linked to embezzlement of company funds by former board directors.
“Working with Yulong will help us broaden our product lineup for business users,” Chiu said.
SHIFT
That is a shift from the company’s typical strategy of offering affordable handsets and relatively lower tariffs to lure users from bigger rivals.
This year, Asia Pacific aims to expand its customer base by 17 percent to 2.7 million users from 2.3 million last year.
That would help Asia Pacific expand its revenues to NT$20.8 billion (US$649 million), up 12 percent from the NT$18.6 billion it made last year. It also hopes to earn NT$3.28 billion, or NT$1 per share, this year. The company has not yet released last year’s earnings.
Meanwhile, Asia Pacific said it planned to spend NT$20.4 billion on building a 3.5-generation network over a six-year period starting this year to catch up with local competitors in offering high-speed data transmission.
“One of our most important projects this year will be investing in equipment and upgrading our network as data transmission is becoming a trend,” Chiu said.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since