Lite-On Group (光寶集團), which makes everything from personal-computer parts for Dell Computer Corp to mobile phones for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd, plans to invest as much as US$1 billion in expansion into China in the next six years, moving plants closer to customers to cut costs.
"Lots of our customers have gone to China and so must we," Vice President Stephen King said in an interview.
The Taipei-based group, whose Lite-On Technology Corp (
Lite-On follows other Taiwan companies that are expanding in China to take advantage of lower labor costs and one of the world's biggest markets for phones, computers and other electronics.
"Taiwan will keep the high-capital expenditure industries, such as semiconductors and flat-panel displays, and all the others will move to China," said Yang Hsi-ming, who manages NT$1.5 billion in stocks at Fu-hwa Securities Investment Trust Co (復華投信). "Lite-On's customers are already in China, so it has no choice but to expand there."
Lite-On also plans to build a China plant for its Lite-On Information Technology Corp (
Silitek Corp (旭麗), which makes mobile-phone keypads for the world's biggest mobile-phone makers, such as Motorola Inc, plans to combine its facilities in China into one plant, he said.
GVC, which makes modems at a plant in Guangdong province, may start producing handsets in China. The company currently makes mobile phones for Ericsson in Taiwan.
Lite-On group employs more than 20,000 workers on the mainland, almost four times its Taiwan workforce, King said.
Lite-On Technology shares rose almost three-quarters after sales surged more than two-thirds in the first three months of the year. The shares of Lite-On Information Technology almost tripled in the period.
"Lite-On Information Technology is the best unit in the group in terms of profitability," Yang said. "I'd buy it if I could." The stock is listed on the second-tier market of the nation's over-the-counter exchange. According to stock exchange regulations, local mutual fund managers can't buy the company's shares until it shifts to the main market, expected in September.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS