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.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
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