RETAIL
PCSC plans record payout
President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store operator, on Friday said its board has proposed distributing a NT$25 cash dividend, the highest-ever in its history, thanks to its share sale in President Starbucks Coffee Shanghai Corp (上海統一星巴克咖啡). The proposed cash dividend for last year is higher than the NT$8 for 2016. The sale of a 30 percent stake in Shanghai Starbucks to the US coffee giant is estimated to allow President Chain to book disposal gains of NT$21.07 billion (US$718.9 million), or NT$20.26 per share, local media reported.
ELECTRONICS
Walsin approves dividend
Power cable manufacturer Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華) on Friday said its board has approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$1 per common share, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$1.97. The proposal, which represents a payout ratio of 50.76 percent, still needs approval from shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting scheduled for May 25. Based on the company’s stock price of NT$16.9 on Friday, it is equivalent to a dividend yield of 5.92 percent. Walsin Lihwa reported net profit of NT$6.56 billion last year, on revenue of NT$167.79 billion.
ELECTRONICS
CHPT chairman to retire
Chunghwa Precision Test Technology Co (CHPT, 中華精測), the nation’s largest provider of probe card testing services, on Thursday said its board has approved the retirement of company chairman Li Shih-cin (李世欽). Li would depart from his position on Sunday, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) executive vice president Huang Hsiu-gu (黃秀谷) is to fill Li’s vacancy.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
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