SHIPPING
Yang Ming head optimistic
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) chairman Bronson Hsieh (謝志堅) yesterday gave a positive outlook on the global cargo shipping sector this year, saying that he expects a supply glut-induced slump in freight rates to ease. This year marks a trough for the sector, as demand is expected to grow 3.8 percent, exceeding a 3.2 percent rise in supply, setting the conditions for a recovery, Hsieh said. The sector is also to be helped by lower fuel costs, he said, adding that crude oil prices are expected to hover at about US$65 per barrel, compared with last year’s average of US$70. “It is all good news to us as long as the US$70 mark is not breached,” Hsieh said. As a trade dispute between Beijing and Washington continues to unravel, the company is closely monitoring the migration of factories to alternate destinations outside of China to better plan its service routes, he said.
PETROLEUM
CPC facing pricing pressure
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) vice president Lee Shun-chin (李順欽) yesterday said that the company is facing increasing pressure to keep its 2007 promise to maintain Taiwan’s oil prices as the lowest among Asian nations. Instead of a NT$0.8 hike to reflect rising international crude prices as dictated by its floating pricing mechanism, the state-run refiner is to slash its rates by NT$0.1 per liter, Lee said, adding that in the past, the mandated pricing limit did not affect the company’s ability to reflect fluctuations in global crude prices. However, in this month alone the company has been unable to raise its prices due to its pledge, Lee said, adding that the firm is drafting a new pricing mechanism similar to the Mean of Platts Singapore, an assessment process employed by the city-state. In related news, amid rumors of a leadership shakeup, CPC chairman Tai Chein (戴謙) did not attend an annual media gathering in Taipei yesterday.
SMARTPHONES
Samsung upbeat on sales
Samsung Electronics Co yesterday said that it expects sales of its latest Galaxy S10 series of flagship smartphones to rise more than 10 percent annually from last year’s Galaxy S9. The technology giant forecast that sales of its premium S10 and larger-screen S10+ would each make up 40 percent of sales, while the budget S10e model would contribute 20 percent this year. The company said that it also aims to improve its sales distribution of flagship, midrange and low-end smartphones in Taiwan from a 20 percent, 20 percent and 60 percent split respectively to a healthier 30 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent mix. Samsung added that it has not ruled out introducing its US$1,980 folding smartphone to Taiwan.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Yuan deposits extend fall
Yuan deposits held by Taiwan’s banks last month dropped for the fourth consecutive month to 290.27 billion yuan (US$43.21 billion), a 2.74 percent decrease from a month earlier, as investors lost interest in the currency, the central bank said yesterday. The figure represented the lowest level since June 2014 as the yuan increasingly loses its appeal as an investment tool. The retreat in yuan deposits was linked to corporate accounts wiring money to China to settle payments and distribute year-end bonuses, the central bank said, adding that the People’s Bank of China eased monetary operations to help support the Chinese economy, which lowered yuan-based borrowing costs.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
RSS