ELECTRONICS
Innolux retains top spot
Taiwanese flat-panel maker Innolux Corp (群創光電) retained its title as the world’s largest 4K2K ultra high definition TV panel supplier last month, Chinese-language Web site DigiTimes said on Saturday. Amid inventory adjustments by global flat screen business last month, Innolux accounted for more than 65 percent of the world’s 4K2K TV screen shipments, DigiTimes said. Since China ended its year-long subsidy program for TV purchases on May 31, TV screen makers have been adjusting inventories amid signs of cooling demand, DigiTimes added. Last month, Chinese TV brand TCL, suffered a 35 percent fall in shipments from a year earlier, while rival Skyworth’s (創惟) shipments fell 17 percent month-on-month, DigiTimes said. Buying during China’s May 1 Labor Day holiday failed to boost 4K2K TV sales significantly, prompting flat-panel makers to be more cautious about 4K2K panel shipments, DigiTimes said.
ENERGY
Gasoline prices to rise
The nation’s oil refiners yesterday announced they would raise their gasoline and diesel product prices, effective today. CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) are to increase gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.5 per liter after global crude oil prices rose last week due to a decline in US crude inventories and expectations of increasing demand as the market enters the summer season, CPC said. It said the price hikes reflected a 2.02 percent increase in its average crude oil costs of US$104.91 per barrel last week from the previous week. Formosa said global crude oil prices also rose last week due to increased concerns about oil supply from the Middle East following Egypt’s political tensions. The company said it would match CPC’s price adjustments.
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
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