ECONOMY
GDP to increase 4%: council
Taiwan’s GDP is expected to grow 4 percent this year, the National Development Council said in a statement yesterday. The council predicted solid growth amid booming outbound shipments, a continuing global economic recovery, more resilient supply chains and the emergence of new technologies. It said that Taiwan’s exports could reach US$472.1 billion this year, up 6.14 percent from last year, and that private consumption would grow 5.36 percent this year. An investment program, which was launched in 2019 and late last year was extended to 2024, would help attract NT$900 billion (US$32.33 billion) in overseas Taiwanese capital back to the country and generate 40,000 job opportunities, the council said. However, several challenges still lie ahead for Taiwan this year, such as inflationary pressure, carbon reduction and the COVID-19 pandemic, the council said.
MANUFACTURING
Sinbon posts record revenue
Connector and cable assembly manufacturer Sinbon Electronics Co (信邦電子) yesterday reported record revenue of NT$2.35 billion for last month, an increase of 11.44 percent from a year earlier and up 8.32 percent from the previous month. The company attributed the results to increasing demand for its products used in the automotive industry, medical and care devices, and industrial applications. The firm’s consolidated revenue totaled NT$2.35 billion last month, surpassing its record of NT$2.25 billion in November last year, Sinbon said in a news release. Cable assemblies contributed to 72.33 percent of the company’s total sales last month, while connectors and other components and accessories made up 27.67 percent, the company said.
CHIP DESIGNERS
Faraday revenue tops NT$1bn
Faraday Technology Corp (智原), a fabless chip design service and silicon patent provider, yesterday said that its revenue for last month exceeded NT$1 billion for the first time in the company’s history, hitting a record high for the third month in a row. Consolidated revenue was NT$1.05 billion, up 12.55 percent month-on-month and 117.09 percent year-on-year, the company said in a statement. Faraday’s revenue mainly comes from its application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solutions, non-recurring engineering services and silicon intellectual property business. Last month’s growth momentum benefited mainly from new ASIC solution projects, which should carry into this quarter despite the first quarter of the year being the low season, analysts said.
TESTING SERVICES
Sporton revenue hits record
Sporton International Inc (耕興), which provides professional product testing and certification services, yesterday reported that its revenue continued to climb last month and was the highest in the company’s history. Consolidated revenue increased 1.9 percent month-on-month and rose 25.77 percent year-on-year to a record NT$420.1 million. The increase was due to robust product testing for different wearable devices, smart consumer electronics, telematics and remote healthcare systems that use 5G and Wi-Fi 6E technologies, analysts said. Sporton’s revenue for last year grew 22.94 percent year-on-year to NT$4.32 billion after revenue in the fourth quarter rose 18.11 percent to NT$1.11 billion, as markets continue to migrate to 5G technology, they said. The company would continue to post record revenues this year, buoyed by strong growth momentum, analysts said.
TARIFF TRADE-OFF: Machinery exports to China dropped after Beijing ended its tariff reductions in June, while potential new tariffs fueled ‘front-loaded’ orders to the US The nation’s machinery exports to the US amounted to US$7.19 billion last year, surpassing the US$6.86 billion to China to become the largest export destination for the local machinery industry, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report on Jan. 10. It came as some manufacturers brought forward or “front-loaded” US-bound shipments as required by customers ahead of potential tariffs imposed by the new US administration, the association said. During his campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs of as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods and 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
Taiwanese manufacturers have a chance to play a key role in the humanoid robot supply chain, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機) chairman Yen Jui-hsiung (嚴瑞雄) said yesterday. That is because Taiwanese companies are capable of making key parts needed for humanoid robots to move, such as harmonic drives and planetary gearboxes, Yen said. This ability to produce these key elements could help Taiwanese manufacturers “become part of the US supply chain,” he added. Yen made the remarks a day after Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are jointly
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) expects its addressable market to grow by a low single-digit percentage this year, lower than the overall foundry industry’s 15 percent expansion and the global semiconductor industry’s 10 percent growth, the contract chipmaker said yesterday after reporting the worst profit in four-and-a-half years in the fourth quarter of last year. Growth would be fueled by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, a moderate recovery in consumer electronics and an increase in semiconductor content, UMC said. “UMC’s goal is to outgrow our addressable market while maintaining our structural profitability,” UMC copresident Jason Wang (王石) told an online earnings
MARKET SHIFTS: Exports to the US soared more than 120 percent to almost one quarter, while ASEAN has steadily increased to 18.5 percent on rising tech sales The proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points last year compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week. The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Data compiled by the ministry showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound sales last year, a drop of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020. In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the US, the ministry said
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