Bosch Taiwan, the local unit of German engineering giant Bosch Group, is aiming for double-digit growth in revenue this year after more than doubling its sales last year, driven by strong demand for sensors used in smartphones and automobiles, managing director Bernd Barkey said yesterday.
Bosch Taiwan, whose main products include automotive components, industrial products, consumer goods and building products, saw its consolidated sales surge 2.26 times to NT$8.6 billion (US$280 million) last year, from NT$3.8 billion in 2013, with growth in all business sectors, Barkey told a news conference in Taipei.
The showing made Taiwan the single market with the fastest growth worldwide for Bosch Group last year, Barkey said, consistent with the rising importance of the Asia-Pacific region, which generated 27 percent of the group’s sales, next only to Europe’s 53 percent.
In particular, sales of sensor units with microelectromechanical systems advanced by more than 100 percent last year, while automotive components gained more than 30 percent, Barkey said.
“The company is on track to achieve its growth target this year given positive results in the first quarter, when sales increased by more than 10 percent,” he said.
To meet demand, the company plans to add another 50 employees in Taiwan this year, after raising its headcount to 900 last year from 865 in 2013, Barkey said.
The group plans to celebrate its 25th anniversary in the local market this year and demonstrate its long-term commitment by expanding its products with improved staff training, Barkey said.
Bosch has invested more than NT$440 million in Taiwan over the past five years, he added.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in