ELECTRONICS
Wistron to buy KOE shares
Contract electronics manufacturer Wistron Corp (緯創) yesterday signed a share purchase agreement with JDI Taiwan Inc (台灣晶端顯示) to acquire all the common shares of Kaohsiung Opto-Electronics Inc (KOE, 高雄晶傑達光電科技), a subsidiary of JDI Taiwan, for ¥8.58 billion (US$77.16 million). Wistron made the announcement in a regulatory filing on behalf of its subsidiary Wise Cap Ltd (鼎創), whose board of directors on July 8 approved the acquisition to reinforce its partnership with Tokyo-based Japan Display Inc. “Based on the KOE’s net value of NT$1.346 billion on March 31, and taking into account other relevant pricing factors, the transaction price is set at ¥8.58 billion,” the filing said.
SILICON WAFERS
GlobalWafers clears hurdle
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said that it has unconditionally cleared the requirements of the US’ Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 regarding its all-cash tender offer for Siltronic AG. The approval followed clearances already received from competition watchdogs in Taiwan, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US. GlobalWafers still needs approval from the competition agencies in China and Japan. The firm expects to complete the deal by the end of this year.
ELECTRONICS
Supply constraints hit Elan
Elan Microelectronics Corp (義隆電子), which supplies touchpad controller and fingerprint sensors, yesterday reported revenue of NT$1.65 billion (US$59.12 million) for last month, 0.29 percent lower than the previous month and 3.78 percent less than a year earlier, due to semiconductor supply constraints. Touchpad modules accounted for 47 percent of last month’s revenue, followed by touchscreen controllers at 26 percent, fingerprint sensors at 14 percent, pointing stick devices at 6 percent and microcontrollers at 5 percent, the firm said in a statement. In the first nine months of the year, cumulative revenue surged 35.53 percent year-on-year to NT$14.17 billion, driven by growth in the global notebook computer market, it said.
CERTIFICATION
Sporton posts record income
Sporton International Inc (耕興), which provides professional product testing and certification services, yesterday reported that its revenue last month increased 0.75 percent month-on-month and rose 31.19 percent year-on-year to a record of NT$408.24 million. The increase was due to robust demand in Taiwan, China, Japan and North America, as the markets continue to migrate to 5G technology, Sporton said in a statement. Revenue in the third quarter rose 11.82 percent from the previous quarter to a record NT$1.16 billion. From January to last month, cumulative revenue totaled NT$3.21 billion, up 24.7 percent from a year earlier, it said.
REAL ESTATE
Hiyes revenue up 16.99%
Hiyes International Co Ltd (海悅國際開發), the nation’s largest housing broker, yesterday reported that revenue last month grew 16.99 percent year-on-year to NT$405.8 million. Its revenue for the third quarter increased 2.78 percent annually to NT$1.09 billion. The firm attributed the growth to steady launches of new housing projects by developers, despite the impact of a COVID-19 outbreak, it said in a statement. In the first three quarters of the year, cumulative revenue surged 48.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$3.43 billion, the firm said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the