MANUFACTURING
Sector showing growth
The local manufacturing sector continued to show signs of improvement in August as Taiwan’s exports rebounded, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said yesterday. The institute said the manufacturing composite index for August rose 1.32 points from a month earlier to 11.84, flashing “yellow-blue” — which indicates that the sector is in a transition period between recession and growth — for the second consecutive month. Prior to July, the index saw 15 months of “blue” lights, indicating sector decline. Among the five sub-indices in the composite index, four showed signs of improvement, the institute said.
STEELMAKERS
CSC name acting chairman
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) has been named acting chairman of China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) after Andrew Sung (宋志育) yesterday retired from the post. The Ministry of Economic Affairs is still discussing possible candidates with the Executive Yuan to lead the nation’s largest steel mill, local media reported. The company’s aggregate pre-tax profit for the first eight months of the year grew 24.48 percent from the same period of last year to NT$13.91 billion (US$443.5 million), the company reported earlier this week.
HOME APPLIANCES
Tatung shares plunge
Shares of Tatung Co (大同), a home-appliances manufacturer, tanked yesterday, after the Taiwan High Court ordered chairman Lin Wei-shan (林蔚山) to pay NT$2.29 billion to investors for embezzling Tatung funds to pay a NT$2 billion loan from Nature Worldwide Technology Corp (通達), a friend’s company in which Lin had invested. Lin’s actions contributed to losses of up to NT$1.7 billion for Tatung between 2007 and 2010, and triggered the Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center to file a class-action lawsuit against Lin. Tatung shares plummeted 8.27 percent to NT$7.76 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Lin can still appeal the case.
BANKING
Apple Pay applications open
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has started accepting applications from local banks to provide Apple Pay mobile services, DigiTimes reported on its Web site yesterday. The report said the commission would only allow credit card payments initially, while other methods, such as debit cards, might be allowed later. CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), Cathay United Commercial Bank (國泰世華銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) and Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) are among the banks who might start offering Apple Pay when it becomes available, the report said.
ELECTRONICS
Sharp to invest in LED
Sharp Corp is investing ¥57.4 billion (US$567 million) to develop organic LED display production facilities, with the aim of starting output by June 2018. The funds are to be used for equipment and to deliver sample products to customers, the Osaka, Japan-based company said in a statement yesterday. Sharp is investing in its factories in Mie and Osaka. The investment is part of the company’s ¥200 billion commitment to OLED technology, part of a strategic plan it adopted with its new owner, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密). The proposed investment will be for smartphone displays, according to Sharp, which is among suppliers that provide screens for Apple Inc’s products.
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