ELECTRONICS
Aces to buy US firms
Electronic connector and wire harness maker Aces Electronics Co Ltd’s (宏致電子) board of directors has agreed to spend US$26.9 million to acquire Genesis Technology USA Inc and Genesis Holding Co, it said yesterday. Aces would purchase 100 percent of the shares in both companies in an effort to expand its presence in the 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) markets, it said in a release. It expects to complete the transactions by the end of March, it added. Genesis Technology USA and Genesis Holding are headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with a combined revenue of about US$45 million this year. Their business focuses on connectors, cables, stamping customized metal parts, high-speed power connectors and high-speed cable assemblies, as well as customized total solutions. Their products are used in set-top boxes, cable modems, telecom products, cloud-based data centers, industrial controls, and 5G and IoT applications, Aces said.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Nang Kuang drug approved
Nang Kuang Pharmaceutical Co Ltd (南光化學製藥) has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its abbreviated new drug application for a prefilled icatibant injection of 30mg per 3mL for the treatment of hereditary angioedema, the company said yesterday. The drug would be immediately launched in the US to increase the company’s revenue, it said. Nang Kuang reported cumulative revenue of NT$1.58 billion (US$55.5 million) in the first 11 months of the year, down 0.03 percent year-on-year. Net profit in the first three quarters of this year totaled NT$135.71 million, compared with NT$137.14 million in the same period last year, company data showed. Earnings per share fell from NT$1.37 to NT$1.34 over the period.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Vanguard leases gas plant
Vanguard International Semiconductor Co (世界先進) on Tuesday said it had reached an agreement to lease a gas plant in Singapore for S$17.61 million (US$13.3 million). The company, which makes power management ICs and driver ICs for displays, said in a regulatory filing that Vanguard International Semiconductor Singapore Pte Ltd has reached an agreement with Linde Gas Singapore Pte Ltd to lease a nitrogen gas plant for S$128,000 per month. Due to strong demand for 8-inch wafers, Vanguard has been expanding capacity since last year and plans to increase its Singaporean unit’s monthly capacity to 40,000 wafers in the middle of next year, from 30,000 wafers this year. The company has said that the output of the Singaporean plant is expected to contribute to 15 percent of its total output next year, up from 10 percent this year.
EQUITIES
Index seeks accreditation
CTBC Investments Co Ltd (中國信託投信) has applied for the accreditation of the ICE Factset Taiwan ESG Leading Semiconductor Index with the Taiwan Stock Exchange, marking the 11th accreditation case for 14 indices this year, the exchange said in a release yesterday. The ICE Factset Taiwan ESG Leading Semiconductor Index is compiled and maintained by ICE Data Indices LLC to track the performance of high-quality or dividend-paying semiconductor companies listed in Taiwan, the exchange said. There are 30 stocks selected as constituents of the index, it said. There are 118 listed exchange-traded funds, tracking domestic and international exchanges’ equity, bond, commodity and other investment tools to meet investor’s diverse appetite and asset allocation purposes, the exchange said.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
TECH COMPETITION: The US restricted sales of two dozen types of manufacturing equipment and three software tools, and blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled new restrictions on China’s access to vital components for chips and artificial intelligence (AI), escalating a campaign to contain Beijing’s technological ambitions. The US Department of Commerce slapped additional curbs on the sale of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and chipmaking gear, including that produced by US firms at foreign facilities. It also blacklisted 140 more Chinese entities that it accused of acting on Beijing’s behalf, although it did not name them in an initial statement. Full details on the new sanctions and Entity List additions were to be published later yesterday, a US official said. The US “will
TENSE TIMES: Formosa Plastics sees uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the US, geopolitical tensions and China’s faltering economy Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier. The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions. Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said. The
COLLABORATION: The operations center shows the close partnership between Taiwan and Japan in the field of semiconductors, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said Tokyo Electron Ltd, Asia’s biggest semiconductor equipment supplier, yesterday launched a NT$2 billion (US$61.5 million) operations center in Tainan as it aims to expand capacity and meet growing demand. Its new Taiwan Operations Center is expected to help customers release their products faster, boost production efficiency and shorten equipment repair time in a cost-effective way, the company said. The center is about a five-minute drive from the factories of its major customers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) advanced 3-nanometer and 2-nanometer fabs. The operations center would have about 1,000 employees when it is fully utilized, the company
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