United Microelectronics Corp (
UMC said weak demand from companies in the computer, telecom and consumer electronics industries indicates a rebound will be slower than UMC originally expected. The news was first reported in the Asian Wall Street Journal.
"It will take until the end of this year to clear out inventory in every segment," Hsuan said. "We don't see any sign of recovery now."
UMC and its local rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (
UMC is adjusting its expectations for this year to avoid surprising investors, said Connor Liu, an analyst with SG Securities in Taipei. "This is protection for investors," he said. "UMC doesn't want investors to have wrong expectations."
According to Liu, UMC will probably come very close to breaking even in the second quarter this year with earnings per share of about NT$0.06. The EPS will improve to NT$0.18 in the third quarter, he said.
Many of UMC's customers such as Cisco Systems Inc and Nortel Networks Corp, which are still reducing inventories, could boost demand by writing off some of their backlogged products, the Asian Wall Street Journal reported.
UMC's revenue should improve in the second half compared with the first half, said Hsuan. The increased sales will reflect seasonal factors and UMC's introduction of more advanced chipmaking technology, he said.
UMC shares fell 1 percent to NT$52 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. TSMC fell NT$1.5, or 1.6 percent, to NT$92.5.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent