SOLAR ENERGY
Gintech back in the black
Solar cell maker Gintech Energy Corp (昱晶) yesterday said it swung into profit last quarter as prices rose on strong demand from China. The company made NT$137 million (US$4.19 million) in net profit last quarter, ending four quarters of losses. Over the previous four quarters, Gintech reported total losses of NT$698 million, the company said in a statement. Last quarter, gross margin jumped more than 10 percentage points from minus-2.6 percent in the second quarter and compared with minus-8.1 percent the previous year. Gintech president Pan Wen-whe (潘文輝) said last week that demand “is recovering gradually and hopefully we can start making a profit again.”
ECONOMY
Citigroup cuts GDP forecast
Citigroup cut its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 1.5 percent from an earlier forecast of 2 percent, the US bank said in its latest Global Economic Outlook and Strategy report issued on Wednesday. The report said Taiwan has felt the impact of weakening global demand and slowing domestic demand, and it expects the central bank to lower its key interest rates in December after cutting policy rates by 0.125 percentage points last month. For next year, Citigroup retained its GDP growth forecast of 2.4 percent.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CTBC sets merger target
CTBC Bank (中國信託商業銀行) yesterday said it plans to complete its merger with CTBC Insurance Brokers Co (中信保經) on Nov. 30, with the former becoming the surviving entity. The move will make CTBC Bank the first Taiwanese bank to have an insurance brokerage. The bank hopes the move can expand its insurance-related services to customers through its network of 148 branches.
ELECTRONICS
Inventec Corp secures loan
Contract manufacturer Inventec Corp (英業達) yesterday said it had secured a NT$480 million syndicated loan from 19 domestic and foreign banks, led by Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行). The company said it plans to use the funds to improve its financial structure.
ELECTRONICS
No plan to quit mobile: Sony
Sony Corp has no plans to shut its mobile business unit, Sony Mobile Taiwan branch general manager Jonathan Lin (林志遠) said yesterday at at a product launch, dismissing rumors that the company could begin looking for potential buyers or exiting from the mobile business if it fails to turn a profit next year. Lin said that Sony Mobile chief executive Hiroki Totoki had denied the rumors during a meeting with him in Japan on Monday. Lin said Sony Mobile aims to grab a 30 percent share of Taiwanese sales of Android phones that retail for more than NT$15,000 when the new Xperia Z5 Premium goes on sale next month.
VIDEO GAMES
Gamania in joint venture
Online games publisher Gamania Digital Entertainment Co (遊戲橘子) yesterday inked an agreement with Japanese game developer GungHo Online Entertainment Inc to set up a joint venture, GungHo Gamania (江湖桔子). Gamania said it would hold a 49 percent stake in the joint venture, while GungHo would take a 51 percent stake. The venture, with an initial capital of US$5 million, aims to launch GungHo’s mobile game products in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The Japanese company is particularly known for its Puzzle & Dragons series.
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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