SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC raises share dividend
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its board has approved a move to distribute a higher cash dividend of NT$4.5 per share this year, from last year’s NT$3 per share. That represents about 3.16 percent in dividend yield compared with TSMC’s closing price of NT$142.5 yesterday. The board also approved capital appropriation of US$2 billion for insulation of advanced ad mainstream technology capacity, installation of specialty technology capacity, research and development investments and other investments. In a separate statement, TSMC said revenue jumped 25.3 percent to NT$87.12 billion last month, from NT$69.51 billion in December last year, hitting a new high.
TECHNOLOGY
E Ink shuts two LCD plants
E Ink Holdings Inc (元太科技), which supplies e-paper displays for Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle e-reader series, yesterday said it has shut down two unprofitable LCD plants of its South Korean arm, Hydis Technologies Co Ltd. E Ink said it had made efforts to improve products made at the plants and to streamline organization, but the turnaround efforts failed. E Ink made the remarks after some South Korean workers staged protests in Taipei against the factory shutdown. E Ink said it was in talks with Hydis’ labor union representatives about job relocations and it called on union representatives for negotiations.
FINANCE
Acer makes public offering
PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁) yesterday said it completed its second public offering of 300 million common shares to raise a total of NT$5.4 billion (US$180 million) in funds. The new shares will be distributed to the shareholders today, marking the first equity raising plan since the firm spun off its former manufacturing operations, Acer said in a statement. The funds are to pay down bank loans, finance the euro convertible bond and bolster funds for new business investments for the company’s long-term sustainability, Acer said.
BANKING
FSC announces deregulation
Foreigners, including Chinese citizens, may open accounts in Taiwan’s offshore banking units by holding passports or other identification documents, such as Chinese residents’ Taiwan pass, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday. The easing aims to simplify procedures and further boost investments. “The commission has sent the official statement to notify local banks about the deregulation,” Banking Bureau Director-General Austin Chan (詹庭禎) told a media briefing. Some banks are expected to start the business before the Lunar New Year holiday, Chan said. The commission also plans to allow domestic banks to set up offices in airports or ports, and the liberalization might take effect in the first half of this year, Chan added.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai sales up by 25%
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which assembles Apple Inc’s iPhones and iPads, yesterday reported monthly sales of NT$396 billion (US$12.55 billion) for last month, jumping 25 percent from the NT$314.55 billion seen last year. On a monthly basis, the sales figures dropped 23.19 percent from the previous month’s NT$515.56 billion, the company’s stock filing said. Hon Hai shares closed at NT$85.5 in Taipei trading yesterday, declining 1.72 percent from a day earlier, underperforming the TAIEX, which lost 0.3 percent, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS