ELECTRONICS
ITRI bolsters partnership
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) has bolstered its partnership with electronic components supplier Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) for intellectual property rights matters, including patent procurement, industry intelligence and patent generation, the institute said in a statement yesterday. ITRI and Lite-On have previously collaborated to develop optical storage products, and improve biomedical and material-chemistry skills, and the new partnership shows their determination to enhance intellectual property issues and their global competitiveness, the institute said.
WATER TREATMENT
Work starts on plant
Construction of a NT$981 million (US$31.48 million) water recycling plant capable of treating 8,000 tonnes of wastewater a day began in Tainan on Wednesday, part of the city’s efforts to sustainably meet increasing local demand. Scheduled to open in 2024, the plant is part of a novel “water-for-water” deal between Chi Mei Corp (奇美實業), which has a factory near the planned Rende Water Resources Recycling Center, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電). Under the agreement, TSMC, which had originally committed to acquiring 8,000 tonnes of water a day from the Rende plant for 15 years, would give its allocation of treated water to Chi Mei in exchange for the latter’s equivalent quota of tap water. The Tainan City Government said the exchange eliminated the environmental and financial costs of building a more than 30km pipeline from the Rende plant to TSMC facilities at the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區).
EMPLOYMENT
Furlough numbers rise
The number of workers on official furlough programs in Taiwan rose to 16,850 as of Tuesday, up 1,068 from 15,782 as of Monday last week, as more export-oriented manufacturers implemented unpaid leave programs amid weakening global demand, the Ministry of Labor said on Wednesday. The number of furloughed workers in the manufacturing sector rose to 4,727, up 757 from a week earlier, it said. In the past week, a machinery exporter placed more than 240 workers on a furlough program due to a decline in orders from foreign clients, the ministry said. The number of workers on furlough programs in the wholesale and retail business rose to 1,462 as of Tuesday, compared with 1,315 a week earlier, it said.
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Temasek unveils FTX plan
Singaporean state investor Temasek Holdings Pte yesterday said it would write off the value of its full investment in FTX, irrespective of the outcome of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange’s bankruptcy filing. Temasek said in a statement that it invested US$275 million for a minority stake of about 1 percent in FTX International and about 1.5 percent in FTX US. During eight months of due diligence last year, it reviewed “FTX’s audited financial statement, which showed it to be profitable,” Temasek said, adding that it did not have a board seat. “It is apparent from this investment that perhaps our belief in the actions, judgement and leadership of [former FTX chief executive officer] Sam Bankman-Fried, formed from our interactions with him and views expressed in our discussions with others, would appear to have been misplaced,” Temasek said.
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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