Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星科技) yesterday said it has canceled plans to attend next month’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, possibly making it the first Taiwanese firm to pull out of physically attending the annual event due to concern over COVID-19.
MSI became the latest company to join several global brands in scrapping plans to attend the CES show as the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spreads throughout the US.
Earlier, Google, Intel Corp, General Motors Co, Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter Inc, Pinterest Inc, Lenovo Group Inc (聯想) and AT&T Inc announced that they had canceled attending the show in person.
Photo courtesy of Micro-Star International Co
CES, which is to be held from Wednesday to Saturday next week, is the first global tech event after Christmas.
“Since December, the rapidly spreading Omicron variant has led to a surge of COVID-19 cases in the US. The health and well-being of our employees, customers and fans are our top priority,” MSI marketing vice president Sam Chern (程惠正) said in a news release. “Hence, we have decided not to participate in person at CES 2022 and will join the show virtually with our online product launch.”
MSI, which makes gaming computers, graphics cards and motherboards, said that its lineup of products for next year would be showcased online.
The company plans to hold two virtual events — MSI Gamerverse on Tuesday next week and MSI-VERSE the following day — to introduce its new gaming, content creation, business and productivity lineups, along with new peripherals and components for next year, the release said.
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