MANUFACTURING
Hon Hai revenue rises
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), one of Apple Inc’s iPhone assemblers, yesterday posted revenue of NT$322.78 billion (US$10.66 billion) for last month, up 0.12 percent year-on-year from NT$322.38 billion in April last year. On a monthly basis, it represented a 5.53 percent decline from NT$341.69 billion in March, Hon Hai’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said. Hon Hai attributed the monthly decline to the softness of its computing products, while the performance of its devices stayed flat from a month earlier. Sales of its consumer products only dropped slightly last month from a month earlier, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Pegatron reports record sales
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an Apple Inc iPhone assembler, yesterday reported sales of NT$82 billion for last month, its strongest performance over the same period in its history, the firm said in a stock exchange filing. The monthly result represented a surge of 26.01 percent annually and 10.37 percent from a month earlier, the company’s filing said.
BANKING
Vision Fund close to US$95bn
SoftBank Group Corp is expected to announce commitments of as much as US$95 billion for its Vision Fund, people familiar with the matter said. The fundraising drive is expected to be announced next week, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. A representative of Tokyo-based SoftBank declined to comment. Chief executive officer Masayoshi Son’s investment pool has attracted interest from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which said it would consider offering as much as US$45 billion, as well as technology giants such as Apple and Qualcomm Inc, which have also said they would participate. Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co is also considering committing as much as US$15 billion, people familiar with the matter said. SoftBank plans to contribute at least US$25 billion of its own capital in the next five years. The Japanese company announced plans for the technology fund last year, aiming to create a one of the biggest technology investors over the next decade.
CURRENCY
US dollar rises against NT
The US dollar yesterday rose against the New Taiwan dollar, gaining NT$0.008 to close at NT$30.266. Turnover totaled US$744 million during the trading session. The greenback opened at NT$30.220 and moved between NT$30.216 and NT$30.290 before the close. Despite the recent pullback, local currency has risen about 7 percent against the greenback since the beginning of this year, which has led to concern that exporters could see their sales and earnings fall, and that calls could be made for the central bank to intervene in the foreign exchange market. “The central bank should move to prevent international speculative capital inflows and outflows from affecting the FOREX market,” said Hiwin Technologies Co, the nation’s largest manufacturer of linear-motion devices. Noting that 80 percent of the company’s sales rely on exports, the toolmaker said a fast appreciation of the currency could significantly affect its turnover and margins. While businesses should upgrade to increase their added value and reduce the effects of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, the central bank should maintain a stable exchange rate because a rise or fall in domestic currency is closely related to national competitiveness, Hiwin said.
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
RIDING THE WAVE: The race to build AI infrastructure has lifted the valuations of top memory makers, such as Micron, amid dwindling inventories and supply challenges Micron Technology Inc is to spend ￥1.5 trillion (US$9.6 billion) to build a plant in western Japan to make memory chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Nikkei reported on Saturday. The move comes as Micron seeks to diversify advanced chip production outside of Taiwan, the Nikkei article said, citing people familiar with the matter. The new factory will manufacture high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a key component for working with AI processors such as those made by Nvidia Corp, the report said. Micron would build the facility within the compound of its Hiroshima plant, starting in May next year, with plans to launch
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