MOBILE PHONES
HTC rating upgraded
A Japanese foreign brokerage has upgraded its stock rating on Taiwanese mobile-phone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) from “reduce” to “neutral,” citing an enhanced product portfolio that might lead to greater sales growth this year. Under new rules set by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the name of the brokerage cannot be reported because it is offering specific forecasts. The brokerage said in a research note on Wednesday that HTC’s strategies for this year are more flexible than previously, with more aggressive product lineups covering different market segments and an outsourcing approach that could accelerate the company’s time to market and increase the number of its products without adding to operating expenses too much. Adopting more MediaTek Inc (聯發科) chipsets for both high-end and entry-level phones could also help HTC reduce costs and shorten the design cycle, the brokerage said. The brokerage raised its price target for HTC shares from NT$125 to NT$172.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook to get Taipei team
Facebook Inc yesterday announced that it would set up a small team based in Taipei to better support businesses in the nation. There are a few key areas of focus for the company, with the top priority to educate businesses, helping them understand and reap the benefits of the Facebook platform, the world’s largest social network said in a statement. Facebook said it intends to hold workshops, “hackathons” and roadshows throughout the year, targeted specifically at advertising and media agencies, small and medium-sized businesses, brands and developers. “Taiwan is a priority market for Facebook. We want to help local businesses, both big and small, to grow locally and regionally,” said Dan Neary, Facebook’s vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “We have seen small businesses, like online seafood retailer i3fresh, grow their market share and experience a threefold increase in sales through their campaigns on Facebook. Brands like Estee Lauder were also able to leverage Facebook to reach specific target audience groups,” he said.
EMPLOYMENT
Wages hitting headcount
Taiwanese companies will not be able to easily satisfy their human resources needs given the slow wage increases in the nation, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan. The annual Michael Page Salary and Employment Forecasts for the Greater China region, conducted jointly with recruitment consultancy Michael Page, showed that the nation’s job market has been underperforming compared with those of developed Asian economies and that there is much room for improvement. Taiwan has many technology firms focusing on innovation and some of them are hiring, seeking designers of electronic goods, and experts in research and development, the survey said. However, a serious brain drain continues to affect the nation, as it has experienced very little wage inflation, with salaries for new graduates not having risen in a decade, according to the survey. “Companies — particularly tech companies — from China, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as other places, including California, target Taiwanese talent,” said Chris Preston, regional director of Michael Page Taiwan.
Napoleon Osorio is proud of being the first taxi driver to have accepted payment in bitcoin in the first country in the world to make the cryptocurrency legal tender: El Salvador. He credits Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to bank on bitcoin three years ago with changing his life. “Before I was unemployed... And now I have my own business,” said the 39-year-old businessman, who uses an app to charge for rides in bitcoin and now runs his own car rental company. Three years ago the leader of the Central American nation took a huge gamble when he put bitcoin
TECH RACE: The Chinese firm showed off its new Mate XT hours after the latest iPhone launch, but its price tag and limited supply could be drawbacks China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone. The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen. The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said. The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than
PARTNERSHIPS: TSMC said it has been working with multiple memorychip makers for more than two years to provide a full spectrum of solutions to address AI demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has been collaborating with multiple memorychip makers in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications for more than two years, refuting South Korean media report's about an unprecedented partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. As Samsung is competing with TSMC for a bigger foundry business, any cooperation between the two technology heavyweights would catch the eyes of investors and experts in the semiconductor industry. “We have been working with memory partners, including Micron, Samsung Memory and SK Hynix, on HBM solutions for more than two years, aiming to advance 3D integrated circuit
Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) and Episil Technologies Inc (漢磊) yesterday announced plans to jointly build an 8-inch fab to produce silicon carbide (SiC) chips through an equity acquisition deal. SiC chips offer higher efficiency and lower energy loss than pure silicon chips, and they are able to operate at higher temperatures. They have become crucial to the development of electric vehicles, artificial intelligence data centers, green energy storage and industrial devices. Vanguard, a contract chipmaker focused on making power management chips and driver ICs for displays, is to acquire a 13 percent stake in Episil for NT$2.48 billion (US$77.1 million).
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