Cathay to increase real estate
Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽), the main subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), yesterday approved board proposals to increase real-estate stakes both domestically and overseas, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
In particular, the insurer is to set up two special-purpose vehicles, companies which are to help save tax expenses and conduct property investment in London, the filings said. The nation’s largest insurer has channeled sizable funds overseas this year as soaring property prices in Taiwan raise the difficulty of meeting the minimum yield requirements.
HTC launches cheaper M8
Smartphone vendor HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday launched a cheaper plastic model of its One M8 flagship smartphone in Taiwan, which costs almost half as much as the more expensive model, at NT$14,900.
The HTC One E8 is to go on sale at HTC stores on Thursday, and via major local telecoms on Aug. 1, the company said in a statement. The new phone supports full-spectrum 4G long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity in Taiwan, including the 700 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz frequency bands, HTC said.
Acer Chromebook tops Samsung
Chromebook shipments by Acer Inc (宏碁) surpassed those of Samsung Electronics Co in the global market in the second quarter of the year, market researcher WitsView said yesterday.
Global Chromebook shipments totaled 1.8 million units in the April to June period, with Acer taking the largest share at 30 percent and Samsung holding a 24 percent share, WitsView said in a report. Hewlett-Packard Co had the third-largest with a 21 percent share.
In the first half of this year, Acer and Samsung each shipped about 900,000 Chromebooks, WitsView said. The affordable Web-centric device, however, is facing strong competition from low-cost Windows-based laptops priced between US$199 and US$249, it said.
Acer climbs in PC sales rank
PC shipments in the Asia-Pacific region (excluding Japan) increased 2 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter, but declined 10 percent from a year earlier to reach 24.3 million units, International Data Corp (IDC) said yesterday. Lenovo Group (聯想) retained the top spot with a 26.6 percent market share.
Dell Inc retained the second spot with a 10.5 percent share backed by strong growth in some key emerging markets like India and Thailand due to its increasing focus on the consumer sector and better relations with suppliers, it said.
Hewlett-Packard Co was still in third place with a 10.4 percent market share, but Acer Inc (宏碁) replaced Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) in fourth spot, as Acer had grown in some key markets with attractive entry-level products, according to the IDC.
MediaTek chip is competitive
Handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) could increase its market share with its first 64-bit octa-core processor, according to market research firm NPD DisplaySearch.
The MT6795 octa-core smartphone chip, which supports 4G LTE services is likely to help MediaTek narrow the gap with global market leader Qualcomm Inc, the market research firm said in a blog post on Friday last week.
The chip supports 2K displays with a resolution of 2,560 pixels by 1,600 pixels and is expected to be in use by the fourth quarter of the year, MediaTek said.
DisplaySearch forecasted that 2K displays would account for 3.1 percent of smartphone shipments this year and 7.5 percent next year.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
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