Siemens Taiwan expects revenue growth to gather pace this year, benefiting from an uptrend in demand for its energy management solutions from local semiconductor companies and machine tool manufacturers, which were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Revenue last year beat expectations as business activity returned to normal, thanks to the government’s fast and appropriate response to contain the pandemic, Siemens Taiwan president and chief executive officer Erdal Elver said on Tuesday in Taipei.
“Overall, we had a good year, backed by growth in different sectors, such as semiconductors and infrastructure,” Elver said. “We did better than planned.”
Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times
Siemens Taiwan said that increased demand from local semiconductor companies helped offset declines in other sectors, mainly customers in export-oriented sectors such as machine tool companies, which slumped due to the pandemic.
Elver did not disclose the company’s growth rate last year, but the firm usually uses the nation’s economic expansion forecast as a benchmark.
“This year will be better than last year,” Elver said.
“We still benchmark Taiwan’s GDP [as our goal this year],” Elver said. “If Taiwan grows, we have to keep growing.”
GDP is forecast to expand at a faster rate of 4.64 percent this year, after posting a better-than-expected 3.11 percent growth last year, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) data showed.
“Energy management and infrastructure should grow faster than last year. Also, industry is recovering,” Elver said. “If you look at Taiwan, [you would] see growth in semiconductors, electronic parts and goods, and industry, especially, machine tools.”
As a growing number of local firms, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), are moving to carbon neutrality and looking to renewable energy, Siemens has the technology and solutions to help them reduce emissions, Elver said.
In the infrastructure segment, Siemens last year provided Taiwan Power Co (台電) with its energy IP, a smart meter management system, with more than 3 million smart meters being installed across the nation by next year.
The smart meter management system ensures the stability of renewable energy power transmission and smart electricity transmission and distribution, the company said.
Siemens Taiwan derives its revenue from five categories: digital industries, smart infrastructure, mobility, health and energy management.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
RSS