INVESTMENT
MOEA seeks higher numbers
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has set a goal of boosting domestic private investments to NT$1.4 trillion (US$44.22 billion) this year, up from NT$1.304 trillion recorded last year. The electricity supply sector could see investments rise by NT$9 billion, information technology could increase funds by NT$50 billion and the metal and machinery sector is likely to add NT$25 billion, the ministry said last week. It also aims to attract US$11 billion in foreign direct investments this year, an increase of 1.76 percent from US$10.81 billion last year.
CHIPMAKERS
Yuanta bullish on ASE
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) on Friday raised its earnings per share forecast for Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) by 7 percent to NT$3.2 this year, saying that the firm will outgrow its peers supported by its technology leadership. However, Yuanta said ASE’s sales and margin outlook for this quarter might be weaker than expected. It forecast ASE’s sales for this quarter would decline by 17 percent from last quarter’s NT$76.64 billion, while its gross margin and operating margin would be about 19 percent and 9 percent respectively. The same day, ASE reported a gross margin of 21.4 percent and operating margin of 12.8 percent last quarter, with net income of NT$7.86 billion, or NT$0.99 per share.
CHIPMAKERS
Parade gives sales guidance
Parade Technologies Ltd (譜瑞), a video display and interface IC supplier, said on Thursday that sales may reach between US$45.5 million and US$49.5 million this quarter, compared with last quarter’s US$55.03 million. Parade is the sole supplier of embedded DisplayPort solutions for Apple Inc’s iPads. Its products are also increasingly being used in non-Apple notebook PCs and tablets. Last year, Parade’s net income increased 76.88 percent year-on-year to US$40.47 million, or US$0.54 per share, with revenue rising 44.76 percent to US$205.39 million from 2013.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said the DRAM supply crunch could extend through 2028, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has led the world’s major memory makers to dramatically reduce production of standard DRAM and allocate a significant portion of their capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The most severe supply constraints would stretch to the first half of next year due to “very limited” increases in new DRAM capacity worldwide, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a news briefing. The company plans to increase monthly 12-inch wafer capacity to 20,000 in the first half of 2028 after a
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
RSS