ELECTRONICS
GSEO looks at further growth
Genius Electronic Optical Co (GSEO, 玉晶光), a camera lens supplier for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday said it expects revenue growth this year amid improving yield rates, after shareholders approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$3.5 per share. The company said it would keep collaborating with key customers as the industry prepares to enter peak season in the second half of the year. The dividend represents a payout ratio of 33.33 percent based on the company’s earnings per share of NT$10.5 last year, a six-year high.
REAL ESTATE
TFCC profit up 2.6 percent
Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC, 台北金融大樓), owner of Taipei 101, yesterday said that pre-tax profit grew 2.6 percent year-on-year in the first five months of the year, despite fewer Chinese tourists visiting the attraction. Shareholders approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.304 per share, translating into a payout ratio of 89.93 percent based on earnings of NT$1.45 per share last year. A shareholder meeting did not touch on board reshuffles, as Itochu Corp’s acquisition of a 37.17 percent stake in the building from Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) has yet to be approved, TFCC said.
HOSPITALITY
Humble House boss resigns
My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅) chairwoman Ellie Lai (賴英里) yesterday resigned for personal reasons, effective immediately. Lai did not elaborate, but rejected media reports that she planned to introduce external investors to the company. She said she reserved the right to take legal action against the defamatory remarks.
ELECTRONICS
Wistron eyes medical data
Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday said its medical technology unit, Wistron Medical Technology Corp (緯創醫學科技), has signed an agreement with En Chu Kong Hospital in New Taipei City and Maya International Co Ltd (馬雅資訊) to tap the development of digital medical data services. Wistron has provided big data analysis for several hospitals in Taiwan. Last month, it set up a joint venture with Canada-based biorobotic technology developer B-Temia Inc, B-Temia Asia, to bring Keeogo walking assistance devices to Asian markets.
LOGISTICS
Green bonds launched
First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) has helped Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) launch the shipping company’s first green bonds, which were listed yesterday on the local over-the-counter market. The bonds have a maturity of five years with a coupon rate of 0.86 percent, with First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) serving as guarantor and First Securities Inc (第一金證券) acting as bookrunner. Evergreen Marine aims to raise NT$2 billion (US$65.67 million) from the debt issuance.
EDUCATION
Samebest unveils service
Samebest Co Ltd (三貝德數位文創), which develops and distributes digital learning platforms, yesterday announced that it has teamed up with Hon Hai Group’s (鴻海集團) online shopping portal, flnet.tw (富連網), to provide digital learning products to high-school students through smartphones and tablets. The service is expected to begin on Monday, Samebest said, adding that it aims to achieve annual revenue of NT$21 billion, or 12 percent of the nation’s supplementary education market.
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
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
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