Epistar adjusts sourcing
Epistar Corp (晶元光電), a supplier of LEDs used in televisions, will increase sourcing from Rubicon Technology Inc and Monocrytal PLC after Friday’s Japan earthquake halted supply of about 25 percent of its silicon wafers.
Namiki Precision Jewel Co supplies about one-quarter of its wafers and stopped manufacturing, Hsinchu-based Epistar’s chairman Lee Biing-jye (李秉傑) said in an interview with Bloomberg News yesterday. Kyocera Corp, which also supplies about one-quarter, has been unaffected, he said.
Epistar has about 40 days of supply inventory and has recently been buying more wafers to build its stockpiles, he said. Epistar’s revenue may be impacted if shortages hurt supply of components used in LCD televisions, which are the major user of its LEDs, Lee said.
No AUO supply troubles
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) has experienced no short-term impacts on its supplies after the Japan earthquake with some materials makers there already resuming production, executive vice president Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told Bloomberg News yesterday.
AUO is looking for alternative vendors, with stability of power supply being a key factor in availability of materials, Peng said.
CPC boosts processing
State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) will increase crude processing this month as refining margins widen after the earthquake in Japan, CPC vice president Paul Chen (陳綠蔚) said by telephone yesterday.
CPC utilized about 62 percent of its refining capacity last month, Chen said. The company has a daily capacity to process 720,000 barrels of oil.
Taiwan impact limited: CEPD
Taiwan’s economy won’t be affected “that much” by the -disasters in Japan, Council for the Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) said in Taipei yesterday.
The Taiwan government has no plans to enact policies to boost the economy, while the government will continue to monitor financial markets, she said.
FSC to remove limit
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday it planned to remove the NT$10 limit on the par value of each share of foreign companies seeking primary listing on the local market.
The commission said in a statement that it would consider easing terms for international bond sales by foreign issuers.
The commission yesterday also signed an agreement to become a member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to help protect investors and maintain fair, efficient and transparent securities and futures markets.
FSC Chairman Chen Yuh-chang (陳裕璋) inked the pact to join the global body that has members from more than 114 different countries and regulates the world’s securities and futures markets, the commission said.
IOSCO members, usually the financial regulator in each country, pledge to cooperate in legal enforcement against misconduct and in supervision of healthy market operations, among other duties.
Chimei to ship 3m panels
Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子), the nation’s largest LCD panel maker, aims to ship 3 million 3D panels for a market share of about 35 percent in China this year, the -Miaoli-based company said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.
NT dollar falls on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, down NT$0.05 to close at NT$29.559. Turnover totaled US$1.06 billion during the trading session.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), yesterday said it has trimmed its revenue growth target for this year as US tariffs are likely to depress customer demand and weigh on the whole supply chain. Gudeng’s remarks came after the US on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, of new tariff rates that are set to take effect on Aug. 1. Taiwan is still negotiating for a rate lower than the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the US in April, which it later postponed to today. The
ELECTRONICS: Strong growth in cloud services and smart consumer electronics offset computing declines, helping the company to maintain sales momentum, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday announced that its sales for last month rose 10 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), reported consolidated sales of NT$540.24 billion (US$18.67 billion) for the month, the highest ever for the period, and a 10.09 percent increase from a year earlier, although it was down 12.26 percent from the previous month. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said its cloud
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