MANUFACTURING
Sumeeko to buy Max Mothes
Sumeeko Industries Co Ltd (世德工業), which supplies fasteners for major automakers such as General Motors Co, yesterday said its board has approved a share purchase deal with Neuss, Germany-based Max Mothes GmbH. Sumeeko plans to spend 6.5 million euros (US$7.5 million) to acquire a 51 percent stake in Max Mothes, which manufactures and supplies screws, swivels and fasteners. The companies are scheduled to close the deal next month, Sumeeko chief financial officer Yan Pin (顏蘋) said. Kaohsiung-based Sumeeko expects its first overseas acquisition to help it strengthen its foothold in Europe, as Max Mothes also has a presence in Turkey, Austria, Belgium and Italy.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
TTFB plans to add outlets
Restaurant operator Tai Tong Food & Beverage Group (TTFB, 瓦城泰統集團), whose flagship brands include Thai Town Cuisine (瓦城泰式料理), yesterday said in a statement that it plans to open 11 stores in Taiwan and four in China in the second half of this year. That would boost the number of its Taiwanese and Chinese outlets to 113 and 11 respectively by the end of the year, the statement said. The firm is also to collaborate with international restaurant brands to establish a new subsidiary, which aims to introduce foreign cuisine brands to Taiwanese consumers, TTFB chairman Charles Hsu (徐承義) said in the statement.
AUTOMOTIVE
Hotai to buy stake in Toyota
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which sells Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in Taiwan, yesterday said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that it plans to spend up to ￥22 billion (US$199.6 million) to purchase shares of Toyota Motor Corp. Hotai said it aims to strengthen collaboration with the Japanese auto giant and enhance its competitiveness through the share acquisition. The deal still requires approval from the Investment Commission, the car distributor said.
ACQUISITIONS
Chilisin to acquire Magic
Chilisin Electronics Corp (奇力新), the nation’s largest power inductor manufacturer, on Wednesday announced that it would acquire local peer Magic Technology Co Ltd (美桀) via a stock swap. The firm plans to acquire all Magic shares at a ratio of one Magic share per 0.503 Chilisin shares. The NT$4.06 billion (US$134 million) deal is expected to be completed on Nov. 30 after receiving regulatory approvals and could boost Chilisin’s market share in the global inductor market to about 13 percent — 1 percentage point less than the market share of the top three makers: TDK-EPC Corp (13.42 percent), Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd (13.78 percent) and Taiyo Yuden Co Ltd (13.22 percent). Chilisin shares yesterday closed up 0.29 percent at NT$173.5 and Magic shares rose 9.94 percent higher to NT$79.6 in Taipei trading.
TECHNOLOGY
FII shares continue to fall
Foxconn Industrial Internet Co (FII, 富士康工業互聯網), a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday saw its shares decline for a fifth straight session on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closing down 8.51 percent to 18.17 yuan. FII has tumbled more than 30 percent from its peak of 26.36 yuan just a week earlier, wiping out 148.699 billion yuan (US$22.897 trillion) from its market capitalization. The firm, which makes electronics, cloud-computing service equipment and industrial robots, debuted its shares in Shanghai on June 8 at 13.77 yuan. Hon Hai holds an 84.8 percent stake in FII.
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
STILL LOADED: Last year’s richest person, Quanta Computer Inc chairman Barry Lam, dropped to second place despite an 8 percent increase in his wealth to US$12.6 billion Staff writer, with CNA Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), the brothers who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), topped the Forbes list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, released on Wednesday in New York. The magazine said that a stronger New Taiwan dollar pushed the combined wealth of Taiwan’s 50 richest people up 13 percent, from US$174 billion to US$197 billion, with 36 of the people on the list seeing their wealth increase. That came as Taiwan’s economy grew 4.6 percent last year, its fastest pace in three years, driven by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry, the magazine said. The Tsai
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