Facebook Inc’s penetration rate in Taiwan is higher than in any other market in the world, an executive of the world’s largest social network said yesterday.
Facebook director for North Asia Jayne Leung (梁幼莓) told a press briefing that the number of active Facebook users in Taiwan reached 15 million per month in the fourth quarter of last year, representing about 65 percent penetration among the country’s population and edging out Hong Kong’s 61 percent for the top spot.
Taiwan had a Facebook penetration rate of about 60 percent in the second quarter of last year, when it was ranked top in Asia, according to Facebook data.
The number of daily users in Taiwan also reached 11 million during the fourth quarter, up 10 percent from the second quarter, while active daily mobile users increased by 20 percent to 8.5 million, Leung said.
Facebook did not give Taiwan user statistics for the third quarter.
“Taiwan is a very healthy market for us and we have seen huge growth here in the mobile segment,” Leung said.
Facebook plans to hire more sales and marketing staff in its North Asia offices this year to serve advertisers in key vertical industries, such as e-commerce, fast-moving consumer goods, telecommunications, tourism and finance, she said.
The social network will also add a new advertisement reseller in Taiwan to seek more business opportunities from mobile ads, Leung said.
In the fourth quarter of last year, Facebook’s mobile ad revenue accounted for 53 percent of its overall revenue, reaching US$1.25 billion, higher than the company’s total revenue in the same period of 2012.
Its mobile-only monthly active users amounted to 296 million during the October-to-December period of last year, nearly doubling the 157 million in the year-earlier period, according to Facebook data.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in