CHIPMAKERS
SK Hynix snubs PRC firm
South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix Inc said it had received a collaboration proposal from China’s Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd (清華紫光), but turned it down, Reuters reported yesterday, citing a SK Hynix spokeswoman. However, the spokeswoman declined to comment on media reports that the proposal included an offer by the Chinese technology conglomerate to purchase up to 20 percent in SK Hynix, Reuters said. A Tsinghua spokesman said the company was not aware of the reported proposal.
3D PRINTERS
XYZ opens Bangkok base
Taiwanese 3D printer manufacturer XYZprinting Inc (三緯) chose Thailand as the location of its first branch in Southeast Asia, after the company launched an office in Bangkok on Thursday. XYZ Printing chairman Simon Shen (沈軾榮) said the company plans to introduce a complete 3D printing product line to consumers there in view of Thailand’s economic growth potential. The company also has offices in China, Japan, Korea, the US and Europe.
PANELMAKERS
Firms focus on 4K TVs
Flat-panel makers worldwide have intensified efforts to develop 4K ultra-high-definition panels for TVs, according to WitsView, a flat-panel research unit of TrendForce Corp (集邦科技). In a report released on Thursday, WitsView said 4K panels are expected to account for 38 percent of TV screen shipments for LG Display Co next year, 37 percent for Samsung Electronics Co, 33 percent for AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and 20 percent for Taiwan-based Innolux Corp (群創光電).
REAL ESTATE
Investment gain reported
Farglory Land Development Co (遠雄建設) on Thursday reported an investment gain of NT$120 million (US$3.65 million) from the sales of building spaces and parking lots to affiliated Farglory Life Insurance Co (遠雄人壽). The land developer said in a stock exchange filing that it sold office spaces on two underground floors and 17 underground parking lots within the Farglory International Financial Plaza (遠雄國際金融中心) for NT$490 million.
TRADE
Tax deal signed with Japan
Taiwan and Japan on Thursday signed a bilateral agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The pact allows Taiwanese working for enterprises in Japan not to be taxed in both countries, and vice versa. It also extends to employees who are on long-term business trips to the other country, the ministry said. In addition, the two sides on Thursday signed two memorandums of understanding on the application of competition laws and on cooperation and exchanges on disaster prevention, the ministry said.
CHEMICALS
Dow reshuffles management
Dow Chemical Co yesterday announced a management reshuffle in its Asia-Pacific operations, with Peter Sykes, president of Dow Asia Pacific, being appointed to serve as vice president for global mergers and acquisitions. The position vacated by Sykes is to be filled by Peter Wong (黃祝齡), president of Dow Greater China, while Lim Yoke Loon (林育麟), business director of Dow Coating Materials Asia Pacific, is to take over Wong’s position, the Midland, Michigan-based company said in a statement. These executives are to begin the handover of their responsibilities in the next one to two months, Dow said.
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
SKEPTICAL: An economist said it is possible US and Chinese officials would walk away from the meeting saying talks were productive, without reducing tariffs at all US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks yesterday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early yesterday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.” The second day of closed-door meetings between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) were due to restart yesterday morning, said a person familiar
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