TRANSPORTATION
Zipcar launches in Taipei
Zipcar Inc, the world’s largest car-sharing service network, launched its business in the Asia-Pacific region on Friday when it started operations in Taipei. Boston-based Zipcar’s major competitor in Taiwan is to be iRent, operated by Hotai Leasing Co (和運租車). Unlike iRent, Zipcar requires drivers to first sign up as members, after which they can rent a car by the hour or by the day, or pay a monthly or yearly reservation fee.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC sales up 28 percent
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Friday said sales rose about 28 percent last month from the previous month to NT$72.80 billion (US$2.42 billion), but were down 1.1 percent from a year earlier. In the first five months, TSMC, which is believed to be supplying the A11 processor for Apple Inc’s next-generation iPhones, posted consolidated sales of NT$363.58 billion, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier. The company last month benefited from clients rebuilding their inventories to reverse a downturn in April, analysts said.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai sales plummet
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) on Friday said sales last month dipped to their lowest in 33 months at NT$279.85 billion, with analysts saying that the decline reflected a slow season as well as a reduced number of working days last month. Shipments of Hon Hai’s computing devices last month increased from a month earlier, while shipments of communications and consumer electronics gadgets declined month-on-month, the company said. In the first five months, Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose 0.23 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.58 trillion.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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