LIGHTING MAKERS
Sanan in talks with Osram
Lighting maker Sanan Optoelectronics Co Ltd (三安光電) said it has held talks with Germany’s Osram Licht AG about a possible acquisition, raising the possibility of a deal that would add to what is already a record year for Chinese purchases overseas. Sanan had an “initial communication” with Osram on a potential acquisition or cooperation and met Osram once, according to a statement on Monday from the Chinese company to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Sanan did not provide details about the status of the talks. Should a purchase be completed, the Chinese company would gain control of a German high-end lighting maker that makes products such as the headlights that go into the latest BMW 7-series cars. It would add to a series of Chinese purchases of German industrial companies that has raised concerns among politicians in the European country. Sanan, established in 2000 on the southeastern Chinese island of Xiamen, makes products that go into indoor and outdoor lighting, as well as traffic lights and aerospace.
LOGISTICS
Pos Malaysia eyes Alibaba
Malaysia’s biggest postal company is seeking a more direct role in providing logistics services to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), tapping a boom in online retailing. Pos Malaysia Bhd plans talks with Alibaba this month on bypassing the middlemen when shipping goods sold on its platforms, chief executive officer Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said. Surging parcel deliveries for online shopping drove a 40 percent jump in profit in the fiscal first quarter and full-year earnings will be higher than a year earlier, he said. “My focus is still e-commerce, and it is driving the logistics business...Marketplace owners want to deal with logistic players directly,” he said, adding that he is going to China to meet up with Alibaba and other market players this month. Postal companies in Asia are remodeling themselves by expanding overseas to meet rising demand spurred by a global retail e-commerce market valued at about US$1.2 trillion by the Universal Postal Union. Pos Malaysia, which started work in the early 1800s delivering mail by bicycle, is the top performer this year among 14 global courier stocks with a market value of at least US$500 million, recording a total return of 49 percent, beating United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp.
BRITAIN
Falling pound a boon: Davis
British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU David Davis broke with government convention to say that he could see advantages to the pound falling to a three-decade low, arguing the decline would help exporters. “While it has some downsides, it certainly has a very large number of upsides, too,” he said. Davis’ comments mark a break from usual government practice of not commenting on the currency markets. Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King later echoed that view, telling Sky News the decline in the pound was a “welcome change.” The pound has been this year’s worst performer among 32 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. It has fallen 17 percent since the vote to leave the EU and 4.7 percent since Davis and British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday last week signaled that they might not prioritize membership of the single market. There are two sides to the falling currency, which tends to boost exports and tourism. Companies making money abroad, such as Burberry, can benefit.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) forecast that its wafer shipments this quarter would grow up to 7 percent sequentially and the factory utilization rate would rise to 75 percent, indicating that customers did not alter their ordering behavior due to the US President Donald Trump’s capricious US tariff policies. However, the uncertainty about US tariffs has weighed on the chipmaker’s business visibility for the second half of this year, UMC chief financial officer Liu Chi-tung (劉啟東) said at an online earnings conference yesterday. “Although the escalating trade tensions and global tariff policies have increased uncertainty in the semiconductor industry, we have not
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS