ELECTRONICS
Pegatron adapting to clients
Amid market speculation that Apple Inc has been cutting costs in its supply chain in an attempt to maintain profitability, Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) said it is normal in the manufacturing industry for clients to regularly reduce costs in their supply chains. While the firm would not comment on its clients, it has become accustomed to such practices and has developed measures in response to price cuts, the Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper quoted Tung as saying. Pegatron is one of the main assemblers of Apple’s iPhone series of smartphones. Tung said Pegatron continues to invest in industrial automation and improving its yield to raise operational efficiency in an effort to respond to clients’ price cuts. At the same time, Pegatron has also been working on diversifying its client base, Tung added.
ELECTRONICS
Sharp might buy back assets
Sharp Corp will likely buy back its TV assets in the US and Europe now that its takeover by Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) has been completed, Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The report said that following the acquisition, Sharp is considering the possibility of buying back its TV business in the US and Europe and would next month send delegations to the two regions to negotiate the potential deals. The report echoed a comment made by Hon Hai vice chairman Tai Jeng-wu (戴正吳), who took over as president of Sharp after the acquisition was finalized. Tai said he wanted to buy back the assets the struggling Japanese electronics manufacturer disposed of in the US and Europe to help Sharp re-establish its brand in the two markets and regain lost market share.
INVESTMENT
Delegation touts investment
A delegation organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs that recently returned from the US and Canada could end up generating NT$6 billion (US$189.2 million) in investment over the next three years, the ministry said. The delegation, led by Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫), visited nine potential investors in the US and Canada from Aug. 13 to Sunday. Among the companies the delegation visited were Canadian technology computer aided design tools maker Crosslight Software Inc, Canada’s Jim Pattison Group, US-based semiconductor material manufacturer Cabot Microelectronics Corp and GPS developer Garmin Corp, the ministry said. The delegation signed letters of intent on future investment in Taiwan with Crosslight, Cabot and Garmin, it said. Yang said the three firms that signed letters of intent and other companies that expressed interest in Taiwan could contribute at least NT$6 billion in investment over the next three years.
FINANCIAL
Taishin net income plunges
Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) yesterday reported that net income in the first half of this year fell to NT$6.7 billion, compared with NT$8.4 billion in the same period last year, due to lackluster sales of wealth management products. Earnings per share during the period was NT$0.72, with return on equity performance at 11.56 percent. The firm expects earnings to remain flat in the second half due to limited growth prospects in net interest margins because of Taiwan’s low interest rate environment. The company will continue to adjust its deposit structure to cut funding costs, it said at an investors’ conference.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
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