SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC ranked third globally
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) ranked third in a list of the world’s top 50 semiconductor enterprises last year, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported yesterday, citing IC Insights data. TSMC generated US$24.97 billion in sales last year and its annual sales growth of 25 percent was the fastest among the top 10 semiconductor companies in the world, Yonhap said. Intel Corp topped the semiconductor sales rankings with revenue of US$51.3 billion, up 6 percent from the previous year, while Samsung Electronics Co saw its chip sales rise 8 percent to US$37.2 billion, the report said. Following TSMC were Qualcomm Inc, Micron Technology Inc and SK Hynix Inc.
SMARTPHONES
Sony eyes longer cycles
Sony Mobile Communications, the mobile device unit of Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp, is aiming to extend its product lifecycle for smartphones in Taiwan through more marketing campaigns with retail and telecom partners. Jonathan Lin (林志遠), general manager of Sony Mobile’s Taiwan branch, told a news conference on Monday that the company will also streamline its products this year from nine models last year and put more focus on mid-tier and high-end handsets. “Our current strategy is on how to extend product lifecycle, for which we plan to offer more mobile content and new-color phones,” Lin said, adding that most Android-powered smartphones from other brands have just three to six months of staying power before fading from the market.
BANKING
UBS leads in pretax profits
Foreign banks’ local branches reported total pretax profits of NT$20.887 billion (US$670.34 million) as of Nov. 30 last year, led by UBS AG of Switzerland with NT$3.371 billion, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday. Japan’s Mizuho Bank Ltd was second, with pretax profit of NT$2.518 billion as of Nov. 30, followed by BNP Paribas SA of France with NT$2.25 billion. Bank of New York Mellon Corp of the US, Spain-based Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia Ltd (東亞銀行) were the only three foreign banks reporting pretax losses as of Nov. 30 last year, the commission said.
PRECIOUS METALS
HK gold exports to China dip
Gold shipments from Hong Kong to China fell 32 percent last year from a record high a year earlier, as lower prices failed to boost the purchases of bars, coins and jewelry amid a Chinese clampdown on corruption and an economic slowdown. Net imports by China were 750 tonnes last year, down from 2013, when shipments more than doubled to 1,108.8 tonnes, according to calculations by Bloomberg News based on data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department. Imports for last month fell 36 percent from the same month in 2013, according to the figures, which deduct flows from China into Hong Kong.
PHARMACEUTICALS
PharmaEngine names head
Anticancer drug developer PharmaEngine Inc (智擎生技) yesterday said its board had elected director James Ho (何俊輝), also chairman of Hwa Sun Asset Management Co Ltd (華盛資產管理顧問), to serve as its new chairman, replacing Lin Rong-jin (林榮錦). Lin stepped down earlier this month from the chairmanship under his capacity as the legal representative of TTY Biopharm Co (台灣東洋藥品) amid embezzlement allegations.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
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