CHIPMAKERS
MediaTek plans data center
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), which designs handset chips, yesterday said it plans to begin operating a new facility with a chip design and data center in the middle of next year. The center would help develop artificial intelligence chips and chips supporting high-performance computing and cloud-computing technologies, and would have about 600 installed server cabinets. MediaTek declined to disclose the investment amount, but said the expense was part of the company’s annual research and development budget totaling NT$50 billion (US$1.72 billion). The 10-floor building would provide office space for 1,000 employees, it said.
AUTOMOTIVE
Hota net profit hits NT$1.2bn
Hota Industrial Manufacturing Co (和大工業) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$1.2 billion last year, up 7.2 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$4.81. The company, which makes gears and shafts for automobiles, attributed the results to a 16.22 percent increase in overall sales to NT$6.72 billion, despite foreign-exchange losses and rising raw material costs. The company’s board has decided to offer shareholders a cash dividend of NT$3.75 per common share, with a payout ratio of 77.9 percent and a yield of 2.78 percent based on yesterday’s closing price of NT$134.5 in Taipei trading.
COMMUNICATIONS
Hitron to cut capital 10%
Hitron Technology Inc (仲琦科技), a supplier of network communications equipment, yesterday announced a 10 percent cut in capital through the cancelation of 24.15 million shares to strengthen its financial structure and enhance shareholder value. The reduction plan would see the company’s capitalization drop by NT$241.49 million to NT$2.17 billion, the company said. If the plan obtains a green light at the annual shareholders’ meeting on June 14 and approval from regulators, the company said it would set a time frame for the program and return NT$1 per share in cash to shareholders. The company said its board also approved the distribution of a NT$1.2 cash dividend per share, based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$1.42.
NETWORKING
Accton revenue rises 24.1%
Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技), a local maker of computer networking equipment such as routers, on Wednesday said earnings per share reached NT$4.68 last year, higher than the previous year’s NT$3.51, with annual revenue of NT$36.45 billion, up 24.1 percent year-on-year and hitting a record level. The company attributed the results to better demand for its 100 gigabit Ethernet switch products and said revenue this year would grow further, driven by open network switch products and software-defined networking devices. Accton said its board has decided to pay a record-high cash dividend of NT$4.1354 per share, representing a payout ratio of 88.36 percent.
COMPUTERS
Gigabyte’s Q4 dips 23.86%
Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技), a maker of motherboards, graphics cards and notebook computers, on Wednesday reported that net profit decreased 23.86 percent to NT$842 million in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter, reflecting slowing graphics card business due to a decline in bitcoin mining. Despite the quarterly decline, net profit for the whole year still rose 21.5 percent to NT$2.79 billion, the highest since 2007, with earnings per share of NT$4.41, the company said.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
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