Taiwan needs more high-end companies than just Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to remain competitive, but it must also tackle its low birthrate, Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Apple Inc supplier Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), said yesterday.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the founding of the Hon Hai Research Institute, Gou said he hoped that his company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), would one day be on par with the TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker.
As a critical link in the global semiconductor supply chain and a major supplier for US tech companies, TSMC has been dubbed by foreign experts as Taiwan’s “silicon shield” and one of the reasons why the West needs to help defend the country in the event of a conflict with China.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
However, Gou said that a “silicon shield” is not enough and he expressed concern over Taiwan’s shrinking birthrate.
The dwindling birthrate appears to be an unstoppable trend that would lead to an aging population, which in turn might affect the future of Taiwan’s industry, he said.
Taiwan needs to boost its low birthrate, and it also needs more private-sector spending on research and development to transform and upgrade its industry, Gou said.
More companies should join TSMC to reinforce the “silicon shield,” he added.
Also speaking at the ceremony, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) expressed similar views about the need to strengthen the “shield.”
Kung said he hoped that Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract manufacturer, will expand its business model beyond hardware manufacturing.
Citing Hon Hai chairman Young Liu’s (劉揚偉) launch of a platform to develop electric vehicle (EV) hardware and software, Kung said he hoped other companies will join the effort.
Hon Hai is seeking to diversify a business that depends on Apple for half of its revenue.
Early last year, the company announced a plan to form a joint venture with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to develop and make EVs in China, although it would not be involved in any assembly itself.
In October, the company unveiled its first EV chassis as well as an open software platform that is aimed at helping EV makers deliver models to the market faster.
It is to start shipping its first developer kit in April.
The company has been supplying parts to other major automakers including Tesla Inc.
“The electric vehicle-related business will be very good in the first half of 2021,” Liu said at a company event last month.
Hon Hai shares extended gains yesterday after analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wedbush Securities Inc forecast robust iPhone sales, closing up 8.59 percent at NT$99.9 in Taipei trading, outperforming the broader market’s 1.15 percent rise.
Separately yesterday, Hon Hai did not respond to a Bloomberg News report that the company is in talks to invest in embattled Chinese electric-vehicle start-up Byton Ltd (拜騰).
The report said Hon Hai plans to invest about US$200 million and the companies aim to start mass production of the Byton M-Byte by the first quarter of next year, citing people familiar with the matter.
Such a deal would be a lifeline for Byton, which is struggling to produce its first vehicle after unveiling its M-Byte concept car several years ago.
Hon Hai is also talking to other Chinese EV makers on potential collaborations, another person said.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
RSS