Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) and US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director Laurie Locascio on Tuesday agreed to increase cybersecurity collaboration between the two countries, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official who is familiar with the matter said.
Wang and Locascio agreed at a meeting in Taipei to build up a joint cybersecurity supply chain under the US-Taiwan Technology Trade and Investment Collaboration (TTIC) framework, the official said.
The TTIC, established in December 2021, is a bilateral cooperation framework that aims to facilitate the development of joint commercial programs and bolster critical technology supply chains.
Photo: CNA
Initial areas of focus include semiconductors, 5G, electric vehicles, sustainable energy and cybersecurity.
The official said that many US information technology companies use Taiwan-produced hardware, and that the US hopes the nation would be able to manufacture advanced servers and 5G mobile networks to enhance cybersecurity.
Both countries could enjoy economic benefits from further cybersecurity cooperation, the official said.
Also on Tuesday, Locascio said at the opening ceremony of a US Business Day forum that the US was drafting a new version of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, which it hoped to launch next year.
She said she hopes to discuss collaboration opportunities with Taiwan, for example to protect customer data privacy.
Many US start-ups are on the hunt for partners with expertise in cybersecurity, she said.
Locascio led a cybersecurity business development mission in Taiwan from Monday to yesterday, which introduced 13 US firms to some of Taiwan’s leading information and communication technology security, and critical infrastructure protection markets.
The delegation met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and visited the National Science and Technology Council and the Ministry of Digital Affairs to exchange ideas relating to cybersecurity and semiconductors, the NIST 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,