ELECTRONICS
Merry inks Luxshare deal
Audio electronics maker Merry Electronics Co (美律) yesterday said it has signed a letter of intent with Luxshare Precision Industry Co (立訊) to sell a major stake in its Chinese subsidiary. Luxshare is to invest between 400 million yuan and 600 million yuan (US$59.73 million and US$89.59 million) to acquire between 40 percent and 60 percent of Merry’s subsidiary in China, the firm said. Merry’s Chinese subsidiary accounted for 26 percent of its total revenue of NT$12.23 billion (US$381.9 million) last year. The Taiwanese company said the planned transaction has nothing to do with Luxshare’s Hong Kong subsidiary’s planned investment of NT$3.78 billion in Merry, which the Investment Commission blocked on June 30. Merry said it is still communicating with the commission, seeking the government’s approval for Luxshare to invest in the company.
BANKING
Hacked ATMs to be retired
State-run First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) yesterday announced that it would permanently retire the 438 Wincor Nixdorf ProCash 1500 ATMs that were involved in last week’s hacking incident that resulted in the theft of more than NT$80 million (US$2.5 million) in cash. Procurement orders for replacement ATMs are to be submitted within a month, the company said, adding that services have resumed at 54 ATMs made by the German company that were not the same model. In addition, the company is conducting a review of its management team and a list of executives to be penalized would be announced, First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) chairman Joseph Tsai (蔡慶年) said. Tsai also acknowledged that the investigation of the hacking was beyond the company’s capabilities and that it had alerted the authorities on the day of the theft.
RETAILING
City Cafe revamp unveiled
President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商) yesterday unveiled its latest marketing plan to refresh the image of its coffee brand, City Cafe, in a bid to boost revenue. PCSC plans to launch a series of new drinks, coffee cup sleeves and advertisements for a limited time this summer and hopes the new marketing strategies would boost sales of coffee-related products by 15 percent. The nation’s coffee market is estimated to be worth more than NT$70 billion a year, the company said in a statement.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NT dollar falls on outflows
The New Taiwan dollar depreciated against its US counterpart yesterday, falling NT$0.034 to close at NT$32.024 as foreign investors moved funds out of the nation after receiving cash dividends from Taiwanese listed companies, dealers said. Buying among local importers also gave an additional boost to the US dollar, helping the greenback snap a three-session losing streak and return to the NT$32 mark at the close, they said. Turnover totaled US$770 million during the trading session. The greenback gained strength in the wake of fund outflows by foreign investors during the dividend season, they said. According to a market estimates, listed companies were expected to pay out about NT$420 billion in cash dividends to foreign investors during the ex-dividend season. By the end of this week, the cash dividend allocation to foreign institutional investors is expected to hit NT$250 billion, which has paved the way for the investors to remit funds out of the nation, the dealers said.
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