Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) yesterday announced plans to form a strategic alliance with Portwell Inc (瑞傳科技) to jointly build an embedded foundry to accelerate its development in the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) industry and advancement of related applications.
Under the partnership, Asustek is to purchase a 30 percent stake in industrial PC maker Portwell for NT$1.5 billion (US$52.85 million), it told a news conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Asustek said the deal would close by the end of this quarter, and it might purchase another 15 percent of Portwell shares after a year.
Photo: CNA
That would raise its stake to 45 percent, as the two sides aim to deepen their cooperation as well as help Portwell return to the capital market, it said.
Portwell is a wholly owned subsidiary of Posiflex Technology Inc (振樺電子), a point-of-sale terminal brand that acquired Portwell in July 2017 for NT$4.6 billion.
It produces and designs industrial computers, embedded computing solutions, as well as mobility and barcoding accessories specializing in customized solutions.
The company has research and development (R&D) and manufacturing facilities in Taiwan and the US, and assembly lines in the Netherlands and Japan.
“Using Portwell’s embedded foundry and connections to key customers as foundations, Asustek will leverage this strategic alliance to integrate design, R&D and manufacturing needs in the industry and offer rapid, highly flexible, customized, high-quality and cost-competitive solutions,” Asustek said in a statement.
Portwell’s revenue was about NT$6 billion last year, Posiflex spokeswoman Rita Hsu (徐瑞妤) said, adding that its revenue grew by double-digit percentages from 2017 to 2019, and operating margin was more than 10 percent.
Asustek said it plans to nominate senior vice president Jackie Hsu (許佑嘉) and corporate vice president Albert Chang (張權德) to sit on the board of Portwell. The two are coheads of Asustek’s AIoT business group.
“They will participate in operations management, and cooperate with Portwell’s operations team and the Posiflex global corporate office to rigorously develop the AIoT business,” Asustek said in the statement.
The AIoT business group was formed in late 2019.
In 2018, Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) promised to make AIoT the core business of the company and boasted of preparing a NT$10 billion war chest to achieve this goal, the Chinese-language Business Next reported on its Web site.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS