SOLAR ENERGY
Solartech lays off 80 workers
Solar cell maker Solartech Energy Corp (昇陽光電) yesterday said it had laid off 80 employees after a production line was suspended due to damage from a fire last month. As the production line is expected to resume operations within the next six months, Solartech said it allocated workers affected by the suspension to its solar module factory. However, some employees refused to accept the reassignment, company spokesman Alex Wu (吳幸元) said, adding that those workers were dismissed. Solartech reported losses of NT$770 million (US$25.62 million) in the first three quarters of this year, widening from losses of NT$37.36 million in the same period last year. Gross losses totaled NT$385 million in the first three quarters, compared with gross profit of NT$195 million the previous year, company data showed.
BRANDS
Asustek tops ministry list
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) was named the top Taiwanese global brand for the fifth consecutive year in a brand value estimation report released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday. The ministry cited Asustek’s aggressive expansion in the smartphone and gaming PC sectors, as well as persistent efforts to improve user experience, in ranking it top of 19 other Taiwanese brands. Asustek’s brand value totaled US$1.67 billion this year, while Internet security firm Trend Micro Inc (趨勢科技) ranked second with US$1.4 billion, the report showed. Want Want Group (旺旺集團) secured third place with a brand value of US$929 million, the report showed.
AUTOMAKERS
Tesla opens Hsinchu station
Tesla Inc yesterday launched the nation’s fifth supercharger station at Hsinchu Science Park as part of its efforts to improve its charging infrastructure in the nation. The Hsinchu station, which allows users to replenish their car’s batteries in minutes, would help Tesla further expand its charging network in northern Taiwan, the firm said in a statement. Tesla — which has 130 charging stations nationwide with more than 300 connectors — plans to install more charging stations in eastern Taiwan, it said earlier this year, without elaborating.
STEELMAKERS
China Steel profit rises 5%
China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s only integrated steelmaker, yesterday posted pretax profit of NT$2.39 billion for last month, a 5 percent increase from NT$2.28 billion in September, mainly due to higher product prices. Sales last month fell 1 percent month-on-month from NT$29.81 billion to NT$29.6 billion, the company said in a statement, but added that operating profit grew 13 percent month-on-month from NT$2.01 billion to NT$2.26 billion. Cumulative revenue in the first 10 months was NT$286.37 billion, a 21 percent increase from NT$236.92 billion in the same period last year.
STOCK MARKET
TAIEX firms’ revenue up 5%
Companies included in the TAIEX last quarter saw their combined revenue rise 5.16 percent year-on-year to NT$19.65 trillion, with combined pretax earnings in that period gaining 15.03 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.52 trillion, Financial Supervisory Commission data released yesterday showed. The gains were led by the optoelectronics, plastics, memory and semiconductor sectors. Companies listed on the Taipei Exchange last quarter saw their aggregate sales rise 5.77 percent year-on-year to NT$1.46 trillion, with total pretax earnings gaining 18.15 percent from a year earlier to NT$10.35 billion.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
Pegatron Corp (和碩), an iPhone assembler for Apple Inc, is to spend NT$5.64 billion (US$186.82 million) to acquire HTC Corp’s (宏達電) factories in Taoyuan and invest NT$578.57 million in its India subsidiary to expand manufacturing capacity, after its board approved the plans on Wednesday. The Taoyuan factories would expand production of consumer electronics, and communication and computing devices, while the India investment would boost production of communications devices and possibly automotive electronics later, a Pegatron official told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday. Pegatron expects to complete the Taoyuan factory transaction in the third quarter, said the official, who declined to be
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