GAMING
Soft-World to diversify
Soft-World International Corp (智冠科技), an online game developer, yesterday told shareholders that the company would continue to diversify its business scope, provide comprehensive service support and reach more overseas markets. The company’s non-gaming business segment — such as online advertising and marketing, and financial technology — has contributed more than 30 percent of its total sales, and the demand for related services continues to grow, the company told shareholders at its annual general meeting in Taipei. The company reported earnings per share of NT$6.84 for last year, the second-highest in the past 11 years. Shareholders yesterday approved a proposal to distribute a dividend of NT$5.2 per share, or a payout ratio of 76 percent.
SHIPPING
Shih Wei remains bullish
Dry bulk shipper Shih Wei Navigation Co (四維航業) yesterday said it remains optimistic about the prospects of the bulk shipping market this year, despite headwinds ahead. The company told shareholders at its annual general meeting in Taipei that it would be prudent in planning its fleet operations in the wake of potential challenges, such as extreme weather, labor constraints and port congestion. The company reported earnings per share of NT$7.16 for last year, the highest since 2008, and decided to distribute a cash dividend of NT$2 per share. Many countries are shifting to coexisting with COVID-19, which would add support to the bulk shipping market, Shih Wei said. However, the global economy is under pressure from geopolitical conflict, economic sanctions and monetary tightening, the company said, adding that it would strive to maximize its financial and operational resources to generate greater returns for shareholders.
ELECTRONICS
HTC shares surge 10%
Smartphone brand HTC Corp (宏達電) on Monday said that chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) was named an independent nonexecutive director at the China-based Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想). HTC shares yesterday surged 10 percent, the daily maximum, to close at NT$46.3 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, as the move sparked market speculation that Lenovo would team up with HTC in the emerging “metaverse” market, dealers said. The “metaverse” is the in-vogue name for immersive Internet technologies accessed through virtual reality and related devices. HTC said that Wang has worked in the information technology industry for more than 40 years and would continue to promote industrial innovation in the areas of virtual reality, augmented reality, 5G, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology.
TOURISM
Japan tops destinations
Japan is the top destination that Taiwanese tourists want to visit as the COVID-19 pandemic eases, a survey released on Monday by Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社) found. The top five destinations were rounded out by South Korea, Europe, Asia and Africa, and Southeast Asia, the travel agency said in a statement about the online survey that drew about 3,000 respondents. Europe surpassed Southeast Asia on Taiwanese tourists’ destination lists, which Lion Travel attributed to a lifting of pandemic-related border restrictions in European countries. Europe-bound tour packages remain more economical than packages for other destinations, despite a 30 percent increase in prices, making Taiwanese more willing to travel to that part of the world for sightseeing, the travel agency said.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
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