SILICON WAFERS
GlobalWafers’ outlook rises
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday reported revenue of NT$5.41 billion (US$193.3 million) for last month, up 12.52 percent month-on-month and 6.81 percent year-on-year. As a result, the company’s second-quarter revenue increased 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter and 11 percent year-on-year to NT$15.21 billion. In the first half of the year, revenue totaled NT$30.01 billion, up 10.28 percent from a year earlier, a company regulatory filing showed. GlobalWafers said that it has a positive outlook for the second half of the year thanks to a gradual recovery of the global economy and strong demand for semiconductors.
DISPLAYS
HannStar to add capacity
Handset display manufacturer HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) yesterday said that its board of directors approved to spend NT$17 billion to install equipment for manufacturing thin-film-?transistor liquid crystal display panels to increase the company’s capacity at its 5.3-generation plant in Tainan. The company said that it would use its own capital to fund the expansion and expects the new lines to begin mass production in 2023. While the company reported earnings per share of NT$1.25 for last year — the highest in four years — company data showed that in the first four months of this year, its earnings per share of NT$1.32 had already exceeded the figure for the whole of last year.
GLOBAL TRADE
Taiwan, Australia talk trade
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) on Thursday last week videoconferenced with Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release on Tuesday. The ministers talked about “international trade issues,” and Tehan invited Wang to a hydrogen conference to be held at the Australian Office in Taipei on July 29, the ministry said. “The conference will foster collaboration between the two sides on new technological developments in renewable energy and will have a positive effect on Taiwan’s energy transition,” Wang said in the release.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Foxtron, San-Ti ink MOU
Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進科技), a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the San-Ti Group (三地集團) to integrate Hon Hai’s electric buses into San-Ti’s passenger bus fleet next year. The electric buses would be the first commercial vehicles designed using Hon Hai’s MIH Open Platform. The MOU says that the electric buses would be introduced into the fleet “phase by phase,” starting with a trial at San-Ti’s subsidiary, the Kaohsiung Bus Co (高雄客運). San-Ti operates 600 buses in Taiwan.
INVESTMENT
Fubon, Jih Sun unions talk
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), which gained a 53.84 percent stake in Jih Sun Financial Holding Co (日盛金控) in March, last week began to negotiate with Jih Sun’s two labor unions in a bid to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement. “We negotiated the labor rights issues via videoconference. It was a good beginning,” Fubon said in a statement on Sunday. The unions represent Jih Sun Financial and Jih Sun International Bank (日盛銀行), Fubon Financial said, adding that the next talks are to take place in three weeks. Fubon Financial said that it has 11 candidates to stand in the Jih Sun board election on Aug. 31, as it seeks to gain a majority on the board.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
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