A World Bank-led project declined to award a contract to lay sensitive undersea communications cables after Pacific island governments heeded US warnings that participation of a Chinese company posed a security threat, two sources said.
The former Huawei Marine Networks (華為海洋網路), now called HMN Technologies and majority owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric Co (亨通光電), submitted a bid for the US$72.6 million project priced at more than 20 percent below rivals Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Finland’s Nokia, and Japan’s NEC, the sources said.
The East Micronesia Cable system was designed to improve communications in Nauru, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia, by providing underwater infrastructure with a far greater data capacity than satellites.
Two sources with direct knowledge of the tender told reporters that the project reached a stalemate due to security concerns raised within the island nations over HMN Tech’s bid.
The project’s planned connection to a sensitive cable leading to Guam, a US territory with substantial military assets, heightened those security concerns.
“Given there was no tangible way to remove Huawei as one of the bidders, all three bids were deemed non-compliant,” one of the sources said.
The source said that HMN Tech was in a strong position to win the bid due to the terms overseen by the development agencies, prompting those wary of Chinese involvement to find an expedient solution to end the tender.
The World Bank said in a statement that it was working with the respective governments to map out the next steps.
“The process has concluded without an award due to non-responsiveness to the requirements of the bidding documents,” the lender said.
A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said in a statement that all parties should provide a non-discriminatory business environment that companies from all countries, including China, can participate in.
“As a matter of principle, I want to emphasize that Chinese companies have always maintained an excellent record in cybersecurity,” the spokesperson said. “The Chinese government has always encouraged Chinese companies to engage in foreign investment and cooperation according to market principles, international regulations and local laws.”
The three island nations involved in the project were represented on the bid assessment committee. Development agencies typically review the committee’s recommendations to ensure the selected bidder complies with the agencies’ policies and procedures.
A second development bank involved in the project, the Asian Development Bank, referred questions to the World Bank as the lead agency.
HMN Tech and Hengtong Group, the parent company, did not respond to e-mailed questions.
A representative who answered the phone at HMN Tech declined to comment.
A spokesman for Nokia-owned ASN told reporters that the company was not authorized to comment on confidential information.
NEC did not respond to questions.
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
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest