SEMICONDUCTORS
Xintec net income hits high
Wafer-level packaging service provider Xintec Inc (精材科技) yesterday reported that its net income for last year was the highest in five years at NT$181.98 million (US$6.05 million), or earnings per share of NT$0.67, compared with a net loss of NT$1.35 billion in 2018. Revenue last year fell 1.3 percent year-on-year to NT$4.65 billion from NT$4.71 billion a year earlier, but gross margin increased to 11.8 percent and operating margin to 5 percent, the company said. This year, Xintec plans to spend US$31.09 million to expand clean rooms and other facilities for testing 12-inch wafers, as customers are consigning testing equipment to the company, it said in a statement.
DISPLAYS
Giantplus’ China units open
Giantplus Technology Co (凌巨), which makes small LCD panels for vehicle displays and handsets, yesterday said that one of its Chinese subsidiaries, Shenzhen Giantplus Optoelectronics Display Co (深圳旭茂光電), obtained approval from the local government to resume operations yesterday afternoon. However, another Chinese subsidiary, Kunshan Giantplus Optronics Display Technology Co (昆山和霖光電), is waiting for permission to reopen, a company regulatory filing said. Heat dissipation module supplier Auras Technology Co (雙鴻) said that its Chinese subsidiaries in Guangzhou and Anhui reopened on Monday, but that its units in Kunshan and Chongqing remained shut.
TECHNOLOGY
Closures to hit Innolux profit
LCD panelmaker Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that the delayed opening of its Chinese operations would affect its revenue this month, as its factories in Ningbo, Foshan and Shanghai resumed work on Monday, while its factory in Nanjing is waiting for permission to resume operations. The company said that it has implemented a flexible work schedule to reduce the effects of the closures. Flexible printed circuit board supplier Taiflex Scientific Co (台虹科技) said that its Chinese subsidiaries in Kunshan and Jiangsu are waiting for a notice from the local government to resume work, but a factory in Shenzhen reopened on Monday. Handset keypad supplier Silitech Technology Corp (閎暉) said its Shenzhen subsidiary is scheduled to resume operation on Monday next week.
ELECTRONICS
Holiday affects TPK revenue
Touch module and sensor supplier TPK Holding Co (宸鴻) yesterday reported that revenue last month fell monthly and annually, as the Lunar New Year holiday reduced the number of working days. TPK’s revenue fell 8.3 percent month-on-month and 32.2 percent year-on-year to NT$9.53 billion, a company regulatory filing said. TPK has yet to announce whether its factories in Xiamen and Pingtan, China, have resumed operations since the holiday was extended due to the coronavirus outbreak.
SOFTWARE
Appier board adds director
Appier Inc (沛星互動科技) yesterday said that it has appointed former Google Taiwan managing director Chien Lee-feng (簡立峰) to its board of directors. Having supervised growth and operations at Google’s local unit for 14 years, Chien would be an important contributor to Appier’s business discussions and decisions, the company said in a statement. The company would leverage Chien’s significant industry know-how as well as his experience and expertise in artificial intelligence and the high-tech business, Appier CEO and cofounder Yu Chih-han (游直翰) said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
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
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
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
RSS