Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), the nation’s biggest solar cell producer, yesterday reported a sixth consecutive quarterly loss for last quarter as price rises proved insufficient to outweigh its costs.
Losses widened to NT$1.04 billion (US$35 million) last quarter, from NT$790 million in the third quarter, the company’s financial statement showed.
That brought last year’s losses to NT$5.04 billion, a sharp rise from losses of NT$2.46 billion in 2011.
Prices of solar cells rose 0.83 percent week-on-week to US$0.363 per watt last week, extending a two-month run of increases, according to Taipei-based market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技).
“The market situation is in favor of [solar cell] suppliers because they are raising prices amid a rise in order numbers,” TrendForce said, citing growing demand from Chinese companies amid trade disputes between China and the EU.
Following the lead of the US, the EU in September last year launched an investigation into whether Chinese solar panel producers exported their products to the bloc at prices lower than market value.
The EU is likely to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar panels, if it rules that Chinese firms sold their products in this way.
Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation’s biggest solar wafer producer, yesterday posted its best monthly revenue in six months.
The firm’s revenue grew 13.67 percent to NT$923 million last month, aided by price rises of up to 5 percent, compared with January’s NT$812 million.
However, the figure was a 0.2 percent decline from NT$924 million in February in 2011.
Green Energy said demand for its solar wafers was increasing. Its factory utilization exceeded 95 percent during the Lunar New Year holiday that fell last month.
Motech shares rallied 6.86 percent to NT$32.7 yesterday, while Green Energy shares jumped 5.19 percent to NT$28.4.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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