MANUFACTURING
SEMI sees stable recovery
The book-to-bill ratio for US-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers fell to 1.05 last month from a month earlier, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) said yesterday. It was the third consecutive month the ratio reached more than one, indicating a stable recovery for the international semiconductor industry, SEMI said. Last month’s ratio of 1.05 was lower than 1.07 in January.
FINANCE
Chailease sets dividend
Chailease Holding Co Ltd (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing services provider, has proposed to pay a cash dividend of NT$3.1 per share, after earnings per share rose to NT$6.02 last year from NT$5.09 in 2014. Dividend yield was 5.56 percent based on yesterday’s share price of NT$56.1, but the dividend payout for last year was lower than the NT$3.2 per share it distributed in the previous year. Chailease has set a shareholders’ meeting on Sunday next week to approve the proposal.
ECONOMY
Market optimism growing
Public confidence in the nation’s stock market and economic prospects are growing optimistic faster this month than last month, despite still-discouraging economic indicators released by the government lately, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said yesterday. Public confidence in the economy has been rising since September last year, while sentiments on the stock market has reached the highest in eight months, the company said, citing a survey released yesterday.
BANKING
Chang Hwa to raise capital
State-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd (CHB, 彰化銀行) is planning to increase its capitalization, despite opposition from its largest shareholder, Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控). Chang Hwa said its board has agreed to increase its paid-in capital from NT$90 billion to NT$110 billion (US$2.8 billion to US$33.8 billion) to improve its credit metrics. Taishin Financial owns a 22.5 percent stake in Chang Hwa Bank and has been tussling with the government over the management control in Chang Hwa Bank in recent years.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Win to optimize metrics
Win Semiconductors Corp (穩懋半導體) on Thursday announced plans to reduce capital by NT$1.79 billion, or 30 percent, and to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.5, which are subject to approval at the company’s annual general meeting scheduled for June 24. Overall, shareholders would receive NT$3.5 per share, the company said. Daiwa Capital Markets Inc said in a note yesterday that the move would help optimize the company’s profitability metrics, such as return on equity and return on invested capital.
INDUSTRY
Giga sees clear orders
Solar material producer Giga Solar Materials Corp (碩禾電子) on Thursday said the company’s board has proposed a cash dividend of NT$20 per share, the highest in four years. Based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$39.65, the company’s dividend payout ratio is about 50.4 percent. Giga Solar’s business focuses on photovoltaic conductive pastes for solar cells. The company said it has seen clear order visibility for front-side silver paste, rear-side silver paste and aluminum paste since last quarter and might consider capacity expansion to meet client demand.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part