E-COMMERCE
Taobao told to comply
The Investment Commission yesterday said it would order Taobao.com (淘寶), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (阿里巴巴) flagship shopping Web site, to withdraw its holdings from its Taiwanese branch if the branch failed to comply with regulations when it entered Taiwan. The commission told the legislature’s Economic Committee that it is waiting for Taobao’s further clarification while an official investigation is ongoing. Earlier this month, the commission fined Alibaba NT$120,000 [US$4,100] and demanded the company to sell or close its local operations by August, because Alibaba registered itself in Taiwan as a Singaporean company when it is a Chinese company.
COMPUTERS
Ennoconn shares rise
Shares in computer peripheral device supplier Ennoconn Corp (樺漢) yesterday jumped 4.79 percent to NT$295.5, the highest in the company’s history, as investors bet the firm’s sales growth would significantly outperform local peers this year, driven by resilient business operations, exclusive support from parent company Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (鴻海集團) and more merger and acquisition activities. Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) forecast the firm’s sales would rise 92 percent year-on-year to NT$9.7 billion this year, compared with local peers’ average growth rate of 15 percent.
COMPUTERS
Asustek plans cash dividend
PC maker Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday said the firm plans a NT$17 cash dividend for shareholders this year, down from NT$19.5 it paid last year. Based on Asustek’s earnings per share of NT$26.21 last year, the proposed dividend represents a payout ratio of 64.86 percent, lower than the 67.5 percent recorded in the previous year. Based on the closing price of NT$319.5 yesterday in Taipei trading, the dividend yield is estimated to be 5.3 percent, compared with an annual interest rate of 1.35 percent to 1.4 percent on time deposits with banks.
CHIPMAKERS
SPIL to distribute dividend
Chip packager and tester Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) yesterday said its board plans to distribute cash dividend of NT$3 per share this year, the highest in seven years, after the firm saw net income grow 99 percent year-on-year to NT$11.7 billion last year, or NT$3.74 per share. The proposed dividend payout translates into a yield of 5.35 percent, based on the company’s closing share price of NT$56.1 yesterday.
SEMICONDUCTORS
GlobalWafers touts dividend
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), a semiconductor foundry that mainly manufactures silicon-based semiconductors, yesterday said its board proposes to pay a cash dividend of NT$5.7 per share this year, which will be subject to shareholders’ approval at the annual general meeting on June 23. GlobalWafers reported net income of NT$2.095 billion, or NT$6.6 per share, and revenue of NT$15.92 billion for last year, according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
ELECTRONICS
LG forecasts revenue growth
LG Electronics Co said its smartphone revenue in Taiwan will grow 30 percent this year from about US$120 million last year, with a sales target of over 300,000 smartphones for the year. The company made the projection after it launched its G Flex 2 curved screen flagship smartphone in Taiwan yesterday. LG Taiwan president Lee Jee-hyung said sales of the G Flex 2 are expected to total 20,000 units in Taiwan this year.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
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