TRADE
Trump-Xi meet monitored
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it was closely monitoring US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), hoping that the two parties could collaborate and make contributions to global trade at the meeting. However, if the meeting atmosphere is not as “friendly” as the ministry hopes, it might be adverse to Taiwanese manufacturers that export products from China to the US, the ministry said. The government would step up its efforts to help Taiwanese manufacturers in China to shift their investments to Southeast Asian markets or to the US if the trade relationship between the US and China deteriorates, the ministry said.
LED MAKERS
Lextar posts higher revenue
Lextar Corp (隆達), an LED manufacturing arm of AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), yesterday posted NT$1.23 billion (US$40.2 million) revenue for last month, a year-on-year increase of 1.67 percent which ended six straight months of declining sales. On a monthly basis, revenue rose by nearly 30 percent due to recovering demand, Lextar said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. However, revenue in the first quarter dropped 7.36 percent year-on-year to NT$3.14 billion, Lextar said. The company, which makes upstream LED chips and provides downstream packaging services, said it plans to continue adjusting its product portfolio in an effort to maintain its utilization rate at above 80 percent this year.
MACHINERY
Hiwin sales set record
Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀科技), which produces linear guideways and ball screws, yesterday posted first-quarter sales of NT$4.29 billion, up 42.54 percent year-on-year and the highest in the company’s history, despite a sizeable appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar against the greenback. Taichung-based Hiwin said its factories were fully utilized in the first quarter and the utilization rate would remain high throughout this quarter, supported by rising demand for precision machinery components and intelligent automation equipment. As a result, the company said it expects sales to climb further in the second quarter.
INSURANCE
Fish farm policy approved
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Thursday approved a new insurance policy for fish farmers to offset their losses due to extreme weather conditions. The new policy, which is to be distributed by Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd (台灣產物保險), allows grouper farmers in Pingtung County to file insurance claims for 30.1 percent of the policy when rainfall in the area exceeds 523mm in a 48-hour period and 100 percent if rainfall exceeds 623mm, the commission said. The policy is designed to provide payouts once the rainfall conditions are met, and farmers are not required to assess and prove flooding damage sustained after extreme weather conditions, the commission said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
C.C. Wei elected TSIA head
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) joint chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) was on Thursday elected the new director-general of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA, 台灣半導體協會), replacing Nick Lu (盧超群). The TSIA also elected 15 directors, including United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) chief executive Yen Po-wen (顏博文), MediaTek Inc (聯發科) vice chairman Hsieh Ching-jiang (謝清江) and Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶) chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁).
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
ELECTRONICS: Strong growth in cloud services and smart consumer electronics offset computing declines, helping the company to maintain sales momentum, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday announced that its sales for last month rose 10 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), reported consolidated sales of NT$540.24 billion (US$18.67 billion) for the month, the highest ever for the period, and a 10.09 percent increase from a year earlier, although it was down 12.26 percent from the previous month. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said its cloud
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