SEMICONDUCTORS
Siliconware ADRs up 24.13%
American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Taiwan-based integrated circuit packaging and testing services provider Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) jumped 24.13 percent on Wall Street overnight in the wake of an acquisition plan proposed by rival Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體). ASE’s ADRs added 5.33 percent amid hopes that such a tie-up will further burnish the suitor’s global standing. ASE ranks as the world’s largest IC packaging and testing services provider and SPIL, the third-largest.
CHINA
US presses for reforms
US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew pressed the country to continue with economic and financial reforms on Friday in the wake of Beijing’s surprise devaluation of the yuan last week. Lew told Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang (汪洋) in a telephone conversation that it is critical the country continue with reforms that are necessary to move toward an economy driven primarily by household consumption rather than exports, which is in both countries’ best interests, according to a US Department of Treasury account of the call.
INTERNET
Google-Twitter deal extended
Google Inc and Twitter Inc on Friday announced their partnership placing tweets in online search results has been extended to desktop. Confirmation came in a tweeted exchange between the two US tech firms. “Hey @twitter, Search party at our place. Meet us on desktop?” Google said, to which Twitter replied: “You got it, @google. We’ll bring the Tweets.” The tie-up could help boost engagement at Twitter.
CASINOS
Ceasars, lenders reach deal
Caesars Entertainment Corp on Friday said that it had a deal with the most-senior lenders to its bankrupt unit, allowing the casino operator to focus on getting support from the last major group holding out on its restructuring plan. Caesars and its main operating subsidiary, the bankrupt Caesars Entertainment Operating Co, got lenders to agree to the reorganization plan to turn the operating unit into a real-estate investment trust from the two most-senior creditor groups, which own about US$12 billion in obligations.
GREECE
Hellas suspension slammed
The government is accusing a Canadian-run mining firm of holding the 2,000 workers in its northern Greek mines “hostage” in a dispute over alleged violations of concession terms. Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold’s Greek subsidiary, Hellas Gold, has said it will suspend most of its employees in the country for up to three months, after the government halted work at a mine in Halkidiki. It said it would have to fire workers if the permits are not reinstated.
SOFTWARE
Vision mulls selling unit
Vision Critical Communications Inc is weighing the sale of its consulting business ahead of a possible initial public offering by the Canadian marketing software firm, according to people familiar with the process. Selling the unit would make Vision Critical a pure-play cloud software company that might prove more attractive to investors if it went public, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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