SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC hits market cap record
The market capitalization of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, hit a record high yesterday after its shares advanced on the back of strong foreign institutional buying. TSMC shares rose 3.57 percent to close at the day’s high of NT$145, with 82.24 million shares changing hands, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed. The gains boosted the company’s market cap to NT$3.75 trillion, from NT$3.63 trillion on Thursday, TWSE data showed.
COMPUTERS
Barclays wary of PC stocks
Investors should remain cautious about the outlook for major Asian PC brands this year, with global PC shipments expected to continue declining from last year due to a lack of “killer” products and replacement demand, Barclays said in a client note yesterday. However, the British bank said it remained positive on Lenovo Group Ltd’s (聯想) outlook, as it expects the Chinese firm to see PC market share gains and new revenue contributions from its Motorola/IBM x86 server business. As for Taiwan’s Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), Barclays said the two companies are likely to be affected by foreign-exchange losses in the near term, along with weakening demand in emerging markets.
TELECOMS
CHT, Acer partner on cloud
Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHT, 中華電信) on Thursday teamed up with Acer Inc (宏碁) to jointly develop a cloud computing-based telecommunications platform for enterprises. The partnership will integrate the resources and technologies of the two companies to provide secure telecommunications services, intelligent private corporate telephone networks and multimedia terminal equipment, a statement from Chunghwa Telecom said. The new telecom platform will target domestic and international companies that are seeking more efficient and better integrated telephone network solutions, Chunghwa Telecom said.
CURRENCY
Yuan transactions up: PBOC
China’s use of its own currency for cross-border transactions has increased “notably,” reaching 9.95 trillion yuan (US$1.63 trillion) last year, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said yesterday, without giving a comparative figure. The combined volume of yuan settlement for cross-border trade, investment and financing accounted for about 20 percent of China’s total cross-border payments and receipts last year, the Chinese central bank said in a statement. China is seeking to raise the yuan’s international profile in line with its standing as the world’s second-largest economy.
SOCIETY
HK falls from livable city list
Hong Kong has dropped out of the world’s top 30 most-livable cities because of poor air quality and social unrest caused by the Occupy Central movement, consulting firm ECA International said. The city’s livability ranking fell 16 spots to 33rd, one of the steepest slides in the survey, while another Asian financial hub, Singapore, topped the list for the 16th straight year, according to a report posted on ECA’s Web site on Thursday. In Asia, Hong Kong ranks sixth for livability, behind Singapore and the Japanese cities of Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Yokohama, according to ECA’s annual survey.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
TARIFF TALKS: The US secretary of commerce is eyeing more than US$300 billion in investments and said Taiwan would train US workers, but Taipei has denied the latter US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said the US is expecting a large investment pledge from Taiwan in trade talks, while President William Lai (賴清德) listed areas that need improvement in order for projects to be completed. “We’re in the midst of discussions,” Lutnick said on Wednesday. “But the fact is, this administration’s goal is to bring semiconductor manufacturing to America.” Lai on Wednesday said Taiwan is supportive of US President Donald Trump’s goal of reindustrializing the US, including efforts to ramp up semiconductor production. Such a goal would require the US to reduce its reliance on Taiwan as a key source
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) and Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊精密) plan to add millions of gaming devices to Vietnam’s annual output, according to documents they submitted to local authorities, reinforcing the country’s role in the global supply of game consoles. Vietnam assembles a variety of electronic products destined for foreign markets, including smartphones, computers and tablets. Information on its production of consoles is not public, but Foxconn EV Energy & Component (Vietnam) Co, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese manufacturer, has capacity to produce up to 4 million gaming devices in a factory in Northern Vietnam, according to a company document from
RSS