TELECOMS
Size counts for smartphones
The market share of smartphone models equipped with five to 7 inch displays grew to 37 percent in Taiwan last quarter, from 24 percent in the first quarter, market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday. Taiwanese consumers’ preference for larger-sized smartphones outperformed the average 21 percent in other Asia-Pacific markets, IDC said. Taiwan’s domestic smartphone sales totaled 1.7 million units last quarter, up 20 percent year-on-year, but down 8 percent quarter-on-quarter, it said. Smartphone market share increased to 81 percent last quarter, compared with 80 percent in the first quarter, IDC said.
AUTOMOBILES
Tong Yang profit rises
Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業), which makes auto parts such as bumpers and hoods, yesterday said that its pretax profit rose 90 percent last month from a year ago. Cumulative profit in the first eight months grew 60 percent year-on-year amid improving economic outlooks in the US and Europe, it added. Pretax profit increased to NT$148.98 million (US$5.03 million) last month, with profit in the first eight months of the year totaling NT$1.21 billion, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Tong Yang expects sales to grow next quarter from this quarter on rising aftermarket sales in the winter and traveling demand during the Christmas season, after total revenue grew 14.06 percent to NT$11.18 billion in the first eight months.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS