Apple Inc on Monday said that it would open an engineering hub in North Carolina, marking its first major campus on the US’ east coast as part of an increased commitment to investing domestically.
The Cupertino, California-based technology giant said that it would spend US$1 billion in the area around Raleigh Durham and Chapel Hill, known as the Research Triangle and home to other big companies that have a significant presence there, including IBM Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and GlaxoSmithKline PLC.
Apple said that it would create 3,000 jobs at the new site in machine learning, artificial intelligence and software engineering.
Photo: Reuters
Apple’s announcement is part of the iPhone maker’s planned 20 percent increase in US investments over the next five years, allocating US$430 billion in direct spending on US-based suppliers, data center investments, capital expenditures in the US and other projects, including dozens of Apple TV+ productions, and research and development on technologies such as custom silicon and 5G.
The effort would result in 20,000 new jobs, including in San Diego; Los Angeles; Boulder, Colorado; and Boston by 2026, the company said in a statement.
“At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook said.
Over the past three years, Apple’s investments have outpaced its original five-year goal of US$350 billion set in 2018, the company said.
However, the firm has also been growing. Its shares have gained about 200 percent since the previous investment plan was announced in January 2018, and the company is now worth more than US$2 trillion.
Apple said that it is also the US’ biggest taxpayer, having paid US$45 billion in domestic corporate income taxes in the past five years.
FORECAST EXCEEDED: China’s curbs on some Taiwanese goods are unlikely to affect trade given inter-reliance in the electronics industries, a finance ministry official said Exports last month spiked 14.2 percent to US$43.32 billion, the second-highest increase on record and the 25th consecutive month of gains, driven by global demand for electronics used in high-performance computing and vehicles, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The ministry expects the trend to sustain this month and beyond, although the pace could slow due to inventory corrections for laptops, smartphones and other consumer electronics. “The July results proved stronger than expected despite rising fears over economic uncertainty,” Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) said, adding that a high sales season in the West and stabilized COVID-19 infections in China
DISMAL OUTLOOK: A Citigroup analyst predicted firms face ‘the worst semiconductor downturn in at least a decade,’ due to inventory build and the potential of a recession Semiconductor stocks tumbled after Micron Technology Inc became the latest chipmaker to warn about slowing demand, triggering concern that the industry is heading into a painful downturn. In the US on Tuesday, the Philadelphia semiconductor index sank 4.6 percent, with all 30 members in the red, its biggest drop in about two months. In Asia, chip stocks from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to Samsung Electronics Co, SK Hynix Inc and Tokyo Electron Ltd slumped. Investors are growing increasingly skittish as the notoriously cyclical industry is hurtling toward a prolonged slump after years of widespread shortages that led to heavy
With a tantalizing array of satay chicken, wok-fried mud crab and chilled tiger prawns, the dinner buffet at Singapore’s Grand Hyatt hotel typically sets diners back about US$70. Those on a tighter budget and with an eye on sustainability can fill a box for one-tenth of that price. Across Asia, tech start-ups are taking food otherwise destined for landfill and providing discounted meals through mobile phone apps. About one-third of food is lost or wasted every year globally, and the mountains of waste are estimated to cause 8 to 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, the UN says.
MAJOR REVENUE CONTRIBUTOR: The company said that it expects revenue this year to increase annually due to an improved smart consumer electronics outlook Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said revenue this quarter would be flat from last quarter, despite new phone models launched by key customers, as the market faces weakening demand. The iPhone assembler, based in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), said it is cautious about its business outlook, given mounting uncertainty regarding geopolitical tensions, soaring inflation and COVID-19 flare-ups, but still expects revenue this quarter to be higher than the NT$1.4 trillion (US$46.67 billion) it reported a year earlier. The forecast came as the company posted record second-quarter net profit of NT$33.29 billion, up 12 percent year-on-year from NT$29.78 billion.