COMPUTERS
Production value to grow
The production value of computers, including tablets and servers, made by local companies is to increase to more than NT$220 billion (US$7.2 billion) this year, thanks to growing adoption of emerging applications such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. That would represent about 1 percent annual growth from NT$217.9 billion, ministry data showed. In the first five months of this year, the production value of the products gained 6.1 percent year-on-year to NT$88.6 billion, the ministry said. Laptops registered the strongest annual growth of 63.6 percent among six segments, while memory sticks was the only segment that suffered a setback, with an annual decline of 15.1 percent, due to a short supply of memory chips.
CHIP DESIGNERS
SOI shares gain 44.55%
Shares of CMOS chip designer Silicon Optronics Inc (SOI, 晶相光) had a strong debut on the Taipei Exchange yesterday, gaining 44.55 percent to close at NT$146 from a listing price of NT$101. The company, which supplies HD and full HD-resolution sensors for security cameras, as well as dashboard cameras for automobiles, reported net income of NT$204.09 million at the end of last year. Earnings per share were NT$3.02. The company’s share of the global security camera sensor market rose from 8.5 percent in 2015 to 16.6 percent at the end of last year, it said. It has also announced plans to expand into biotechnology through partnerships developing DNA sequencing chips and other applications.
FOOTWEAR
Fulgent Sun profit up 1.3%
Outdoor footwear supplier Fulgent Sun Group (鈺齊國際) yesterday reported that its second-quarter net profit rose 1.3 percent to a new high of NT$240.36 million from NT$237.29 million the previous year, thanks to continuing demand from its brand clients. Revenue also gained 2.3 percent year-on-year to a record of NT$2.62 billion last quarter from NT$2.56 billion, but earnings per share decreased to NT$1.65 from NT$1.7 in the same period last year because of its larger share capital, the company said in a statement. Gross margin was 15.5 percent last quarter, down from 20.6 percent the previous year, which the company attributed to an adjustment of its production lines at its plants in China and Southeast Asia.
SHIPBUILDERS
CSBC awarded contract
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday announced that it has been awarded a NT$2.87 billion contract to build 15 100-tonne search-and-rescue vessels for the Coast Guard Administration. Delivery of the vessels would be between 2020 and 2023, the company said, adding that construction is expected to begin within eight months, with each vessel estimated to take about 13 months to build. CSBC said it is also aiming to win the maintenance contract for the vessels to bring in additional revenue.
BANKING
Yuan deposits up 0.31%
Yuan deposits held by local banks gained 0.31 percent to 312.25 billion yuan (US$46.73 billion) at the end of last month, reversing four straight months of decline, even though the currency lost value against the greenback amid trade tension fears, the central bank said yesterday. Yuan deposits at domestic banking units rose 0.14 percent to 281.17 billion yuan last month, while those at offshore units grew 1.92 percent to 31.08 billion yuan, the bank said, adding that the figures include negotiable certificates of deposit.
Napoleon Osorio is proud of being the first taxi driver to have accepted payment in bitcoin in the first country in the world to make the cryptocurrency legal tender: El Salvador. He credits Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to bank on bitcoin three years ago with changing his life. “Before I was unemployed... And now I have my own business,” said the 39-year-old businessman, who uses an app to charge for rides in bitcoin and now runs his own car rental company. Three years ago the leader of the Central American nation took a huge gamble when he put bitcoin
TECH RACE: The Chinese firm showed off its new Mate XT hours after the latest iPhone launch, but its price tag and limited supply could be drawbacks China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) yesterday unveiled the world’s first tri-foldable phone, as it seeks to expand its lead in the world’s biggest smartphone market and steal the spotlight from Apple Inc hours after it debuted a new iPhone. The Chinese tech giant showed off its new Mate XT, which users can fold three ways like an accordion screen door, during a launch ceremony in Shenzhen. The Mate XT comes in red and black and has a 10.2-inch display screen. At 3.6mm thick, it is the world’s slimmest foldable smartphone, Huawei said. The company’s Web site showed that it has garnered more than
Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips should spur growth for the semiconductor industry over the next few years, the CEO of a major supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said, dismissing concerns that investors had misjudged the pace and extent of spending on AI. While the global chip market has grown about 8 percent annually over the past 20 years, AI semiconductors should grow at a much higher rate going forward, Scientech Corp (辛耘) chief executive officer Hsu Ming-chi (許明琪) told Bloomberg Television. “This booming of the AI industry has just begun,” Hsu said. “For the most prominent
PARTNERSHIPS: TSMC said it has been working with multiple memorychip makers for more than two years to provide a full spectrum of solutions to address AI demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has been collaborating with multiple memorychip makers in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications for more than two years, refuting South Korean media report's about an unprecedented partnership with Samsung Electronics Co. As Samsung is competing with TSMC for a bigger foundry business, any cooperation between the two technology heavyweights would catch the eyes of investors and experts in the semiconductor industry. “We have been working with memory partners, including Micron, Samsung Memory and SK Hynix, on HBM solutions for more than two years, aiming to advance 3D integrated circuit
RSS