SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC chair cites trade war
Global efforts to develop national self-sufficiency in chip production are “economically unrealistic,” while US-China trade tensions have contributed to the chip shortage snarling entire industries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) said yesterday. Speaking to reporters at an industry event in Hsinchu in his role as chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association, Liu said that uncertainty surrounding US-China ties led to a shift in supply chains and pushed companies to stockpile inventories, while others rushed to fill the market gap left by Huawei Technologies Co (華為) after sanctions crippled its consumer business. “Uncertainties led to double booking, but actual capacity is larger than demand,” Liu said. How quickly those concerns are resolved “really depends on future US-China negotiations,” he added.
COMPUTERS
Acer, Asustek to raise prices
Leading PC brands Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) are planning to raise notebook computer prices because of rising component prices and production costs, the companies said yesterday. The two firms did not specify the extent of the price increases or when they would take effect, although media reports said that prices would increase by 5 to 10 percent in the second quarter, which would be the highest price increase in a decade. Asustek said that the entire notebook computer supply chain has been under pressure to increase prices to secure the resources necessary to expand production capacity and meet market demand. The two firms said that an appropriate price increase would reflect the increase in production costs, while helping them to maintain their gross margins.
MANUFACTURING
Value Valves foresees orders
Value Valves Co (捷流閥業) is optimistic about rising demand from customers in the global shipbuilding, electronics and energy industries this year, the manufacturer of valves said on Monday. The company is also upbeat about a factory automation trend, which increases demand for automation controller applications, it said in a statement. As a result, the company expects to receive more orders from Taiwan, Southeast Asia and China this year, it said. On Monday, Value Valves reported record profit and revenue for last year, with net profit growing 3.69 percent year-on-year to NT$295 million (US$10.34 million) and revenue increasing 2.06 percent to NT$2.4 billion. With earnings per share of NT$7.55, the company’s board of directors has proposed to distribute a cash dividend of NT$5.11, which represents a payout ratio of 67.68 percent.
REAL ESTATE
Radium to ink Taipei pact
Real-estate developer Radium Life Tech Co (日勝生) on Monday said that it would sign a contract with the Taipei City Government in the first half of this year regarding its investment in an urban renewal project near the intersection of Guanqian Road and Xinyang Street, near Taipei Railway Station. The firm won the bid in December last year to develop a grade-A smart and green office building on the site. The firm reported that its construction business contributed 30 percent of its total revenue of NT$6.77 billion last year. Revenue increased 7 percent year-on-year, while net profit grew 43 percent to NT$667 million and earnings per share rose 53 percent to NT$0.69. The firm’s board of directors has proposed to distribute a cash dividend of NT$ 0.62 per share, it said.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ￥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since
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