Reported about 1 year ago
The trend of semiconductor factory failures that started in 2020 in China seems to be making a comeback. The recent bankruptcy proceedings of Shanghai Wusheng Semiconductor Company, with intended investments of billions of Chinese yuan, have raised concerns of a potential wave of closures. Capital markets are becoming more cautious towards semiconductor enterprises, with 23 related companies withdrawing their IPO applications since last year. This has led to a loss of investment confidence and the tightening of IPO policies, making it harder for semiconductor companies in China to raise capital in the future.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
In response to overtourism, Venice has implemented a new €5 entry fee system to reduce the negative impacts of mass tourism on the city. However, local and international scholars are skeptical of the effectiveness of the measure, with some residents expressing opposition through protests. The city also faces challenges of excessive tourism affecting its economy and residents, leading to a decline in the local population. The article discusses criticisms and concerns surrounding the new ticketing system and alternative methods to address overtourism.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
According to the latest statistics from Media Partner Asia on June 16, 2024, Taiwan's online video industry had an overall value of around 9 billion USD (approximately 290 billion TWD) in 2023, with 1 million new OTT paid subscribers bringing the total to a record high of 5.8 million. However, Netflix and Disney+ still dominate with 21% and 17% market share respectively, while the three major OTT platforms led by the telecom giants Taiwan Mobile's MyVideo at about 9%, Far EasTone's friDay Video around 9%, and Chunghwa Telecom's Hami Video at around 7% are competing fiercely. Recent developments include Chunghwa Telecom obtaining media rights for the Paris Olympics to boost Hami Video subscriptions and forecasts indicating an increase of 200,000 users during the Olympics. Taiwan Mobile's strategic investments and content acquisitions, including securing the Taiwanese rights for the Chinese drama 'Blossoms,' showcase their effort to attract more subscribers and expand globally. Far EasTone has also seen growth by offering popular Korean dramas like 'The Rich Son,' almost comparable to Taiwan Mobile's market share with MyVideo, with notable attention.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Vigor Bakery has repositioned its tourism souvenirs and launched a new series of gift boxes named Light Travel × Miniature Gift Boxes, featuring convenient travel-sized boxes (10.5cm in length, 10cm in width, and 5cm in depth) suitable for packing before and after trips. The initial offerings include pineapple cakes, milk sun cakes, scallion pastry rolls, and cranberry snowflakes, priced at 100 yuan each. Each product comes with a cute card for table or window display, making it both enjoyable to eat and play with, and is worth sharing and collecting. Additionally, Vigor Bakery's new visual identity design infused with a fresh and artistic lifestyle style will debut in June at the opening of their store at the Yida World 123 Plaza in Kaohsiung, offering unique pastries and popular souvenirs for friends’ gatherings and family trips, while their second-generation store in Taipei’s Yongkang Commercial District is expected to open in July, showcasing freshly made cakes and trendy drinks accompanying their renowned bakery goodies, available for dine-in or takeaway reservations.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Tai Wan Precision Gear Company, known as the first brand in Taiwan's precision gear industry, showcased six new products at the China CNC Machine Tool Exhibition in Shanghai in April. The products, including 1-meter grinding-grade large gears, internal gears, and precision worm gears, received positive feedback and generated strong interest from potential buyers, highlighting the company's excellent R&D, manufacturing, and quality management capabilities. With a focus on expanding their presence in foreign markets, the company has received orders from Chinese machine tool manufacturers and global steel plant production line operators in recent years, further solidifying their position and promising a prosperous second half of the year.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Attending college was supposed to lead to a better life, but student loan debt has become a nightmare for borrowers in the United States, delaying major life events like buying a home and getting married. A Gallup and Lumina Foundation survey found that nearly three-quarters of American borrowers say student debt has forced them to postpone life milestones, with many struggling to find well-paying jobs in their field of study. The increasing cost of education has led to a decrease in public confidence in higher education's value, with 36% in 2023 having confidence in it, down from 57% in 2015. While President Biden's plan to forgive $153 billion in federal student loans has given some borrowers hope, critics argue it may not address the root issue and could lead to further tuition hikes.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
System Electric (5309) was affected by the slowdown in the electric vehicle market this year, with Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) shipments falling short of expectations. However, the company secured industrial computer (IPC) orders through a partnership with a leading American engineering vehicle company, expecting increased shipments in the second half of the year. Additionally, the data center backup battery system (BBU) is set for mass production in the fourth quarter, boosting growth momentum for next year. Despite declining TPMS shipments in the first half of the year, new products such as IPC and BBU showed growth, supporting steady revenue performance. System Electric has been focusing on diversifying its product lines with IPC, BBU, smart glasses, and autonomous mobile robots, aiming to expand market presence. The company is optimistic about Bluetooth TPMS as a future trend, with potential new customers from European and American traditional car manufacturers expected to join production in the second half of next year. The U.S. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) involving transportation, energy, networks, water facilities, and increased demand for automation in engineering vehicles and geologic applications, further highlighting the growing significance of IPC in various sectors. The use of IPC in vehicle control systems, communication technologies, data collection, computation, and monitoring systems is becoming a trend, and System Electric is capitalizing on this opportunity to enhance revenue prospects with stable shipments and new IPC orders in the latter part of this year.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Yang Qing'an/Integrated report The Sino-Australian relations have warmed up as Chinese Premier Li Qiang visited Australia on a four-day trip starting from June 15, 2024. He announced the continuation of panda diplomacy by offering two giant pandas to Australia, while the two pandas which have been in Australia for 15 years, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will be returning to China. Li Qiang's trip focuses on economic and trade relations, with visits to Adelaide Zoo, the Barossa wine region, and a lithium mine in Perth. Meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and discussions on foreign influence, human rights, Pacific competition, and regional security are also planned, highlighting the importance of this visit for stabilizing the trade relationship between the two countries after two years of conscious efforts by the Australian government.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Following AMD's MI 300, NVIDIA's B200 is the first to adopt Chiplet technology, which has become a significant solution to continue Moore's Law, with TSMC, Intel, Samsung, and ASE Group all actively involved. The use of Chiplet technology enhances product cost-effectiveness, marking it as a crucial turning point for the next-generation semiconductor industry. The industry is trending towards bigger sizes, with Chiplet technology enabling multiple small chips with different functions to form a system-in-package (SiP) integrated on a single substrate, fostering high-speed chip connections and technical alliances like the UCIe Consortium. Future Chiplet design trends are predicted to separate signal and high-speed transmission components to optimize computational power and reduce design costs. However, advanced packaging costs remain high, with 2.5D packaging fees around 20 times higher than conventional BGA testing costs, and escalating to at least 45 times with 3D packaging. The control of such technology is expected to be restricted to a handful of players. Taiwan's IC design industry can sustain the expenses related to this advanced process, estimated to be fewer than 10 companies.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Recent economic data in the US, including a downward revision of GDP and stagnant Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) in the first quarter, signifies a loosening economic momentum. Investment firms suggest that a stagnant interest rate environment may not be negative, as both stocks and bonds tend to rise, making diversified assets a favorable option. Following historical trends, post the Fed halting rate hikes, the average returns for stocks and bonds after 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year could reach 8.3%, 7.6%, and 13.6%, respectively. This indicates the benefit of positioning in diversified assets for global market investment opportunities amidst current mixed market opportunities and risks, emphasizing on risk diversification through broadening asset classes rather than single-market heavy investment.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
As Chinese investment company CCL leader Jian Tao's laminated board price surges, Taiwanese electronics companies Unimicron and Chin-Poon Electronics have started adjusting prices accordingly to various customer needs. The price adjustments have been made based on different procurement scales and part numbers, and discussions with customers are ongoing. This trend is also affecting downstream PCB factories. The rise in copper prices has impacted CCL prices, but high-end product manufacturers like Unimicron are less affected. Leading automotive PCB manufacturer Chin-Poon anticipates the impact of rising electricity and CCL prices on their profit margins, aiming to offset these effects through increased revenue in the latter half of the year. Other key players like Xinxing and Nanya Electric are also adjusting to the price hike trend caused by the rise in copper prices. Overall, building Tao's first price increase in CCL marks the beginning of a potential industry-wide price adjustment, leading to a positive trend in the electronics manufacturing sector.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
勞動部將於2024年6月16日召開最低工資審議委員會，工總調查顯示，逾半產業界預計只能接受3％的最低工資調幅。過去兩年調查指出，製造業中多數業者無法承受超過3％的調幅，且超過半數的產業整體營收減少，對於最低工資調漲將加劇製造業成本上揚感到擔憂。工總呼籲政府審慎評估調漲對製造業的影響。
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
On June 16, 2024, during Apple's WWDC, the introduction of 'apple intelligence' attracted consumer attention, causing Apple's market value to briefly return to the top globally. This also boosted the stock prices of Yujing Optoelectronics and other Apple supply chain companies, reaching a stable point of 600 yuan. The upcoming iPhone 16 series with the periscope lens technology being shifted down will make Yujing Optoelectronics a major supplier, further enhancing its revenue prospects. Analysts are optimistic about Yujing Optoelectronics' potential, with foreign investors buying 2,463 shares in a single week. Despite traditional slow seasons in May and June, Yujing Optoelectronics recorded a 110.99% year-on-year revenue increase in May and an 79.19% increase for the first five months of the year. Yujing Optoelectronics is positioned to become the secondary supplier for the periscope lens in the iPhone 16 Pro, following De Liang Guang's exclusive supply for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. *【Warrant investment entails risks, information provided here is for reference only, not an invitation, solicitation, or recommendation. Readers are advised to act prudently】.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Motorola has announced the release of the new affordable foldable phones moto razr 50/Ultra series on June 25, just ahead of Samsung’s launch of Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6 in July. Motorola aims to seize the market opportunity by offering competitive pricing. With foldable phones gaining popularity, Motorola’s strategy of affordable foldable phones has been successful with the Razr 40 series, leading to a projected shipment of over 1 million units this year, gaining over 6% market share. The key attraction of foldable phones includes pricing, display enhancement, and reduced creases, prompting brands to focus on improving display performance while reducing overall costs. Motorola's upcoming razr 50 series specs include various upgrades such as larger outside screens, quicker refresh rates, and improved camera capabilities.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
S&P Global Ratings report on June 16, 2024, highlights enterprises ramping up IT investments with a significant focus on AI. With the rapid growth of AI in the global tech industry, TSMC is expanding its AI chip advanced packaging capacity to meet strong demand. The report states that enterprises boosting IT investment, particularly in AI, are driving explosive growth in memory prices. TSMC's semiconductor growth rate for 2024 is expected at 8%, fueled by robust demand for AI chips, while AI server revenues are projected to double. The report underscores a surge in AI investments by hyperscalers, propelling demand for AI chips and memory. Additionally, semiconductor sales in Q1 saw a 15% YoY increase mainly due to robust DRAM and NAND prices rebound, with memory revenue almost doubling, driven by strong demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI applications. TSMC plays a critical role in AI chip supply with its advanced packaging technology, aiding customers like NVIDIA to shorten chip delivery times significantly and enhance overall supply chain efficiency.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Ivory Coast and Ghana, two major cocoa-producing countries, are working to comply with EU regulations by registering cocoa plantations and preserving rainforest ecosystems. Challenges in technology have led to a higher demand and soaring prices for cocoa beans. Non-profit organizations and local governments are collaborating to help small family-owned cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast register their coordinates to ensure compliance with the EU law, which mandates the sourcing of cocoa beans from non-rainforest areas. Nearly 80% of cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast have completed registration, with the remaining 300,000 plantations needing to be registered before the start of the new production season in October. The implementation of the EU law is expected to increase production costs and further raise cocoa and chocolate prices globally, with futures prices already hitting an all-time high and major chocolate suppliers planning significant price hikes.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Toyota's annual shareholder meeting on June 18 faced resistance in re-electing Chairman Akio Toyoda due to recent scandals involving falsification, damaging the company's image and stock prices. Key advisory firms recommended voting against Toyoda due to scandals in Toyota-owned companies fabricating data. Despite promises to enhance communication with employees, allegations suggest that the root cause of the issue lies in Toyota's corporate culture. Although advisory firms suggest voting against Toyoda, his position remains unlikely to be overturned due to the support from major shareholders and affiliated companies within the Toyota Group.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
On June 16, 2024, at 4:10 pm, in response to the global net zero trend and Taiwan's 2050 net zero transformation goal, New Bank of Commerce, a subsidiary of Shin Kong Financial Holdings, held a seminar on 'Net Zero Transformation and Green Supply Chain Financing' at the Amba Taipei Songshan Hotel on June 4. They invited corporate credit clients to join in responding to the initiative, featuring discussions on carbon management, digital tools for greenhouse gas inventory, ESG company transition, risks, and opportunities in climate change, and the bank's commitment to net zero emissions. The bank, guided by the FSC's Green Finance Action Plan 3.0 and Corporate Governance 4.0 policies, is promoting green credit and sustainable performance-linked credit measures to assist businesses in net zero transformation.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
New Generation Technology Co., Ltd., a leading brand in global machine tool controller, will be listed on the emerging stock market on June 18 at an initial price of 153 Yuan. With a focus on software and hardware development in machine tool controllers and advancements in motion control, IIoT, AI, big data, and industrial automation, the company aims to provide comprehensive Industry 4.0 solutions. With strong financial performance in recent years, including a revenue of 7.872 billion Yuan in the past year, the company continues to expand its presence in Taiwan and globally while prioritizing customer-centric solutions and sustainable growth strategies to create maximum value for its shareholders.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Peng Weilin/Taipei reports at 4:10 pm on June 16, 2024, Catcher Technology, a subsidiary of TSMC, is tapping into the 3D imaging market with reports of securing orders for Metalens (ultra-clear lens) from both Apple and non-Apple camps, with mass shipments expected in 2025, positioning them to benefit directly from the thriving 3D imaging market. Catcher had May revenues of 860 million NT dollars, a 23.54% monthly increase and a 31.75% yearly increase, totaling 3.67 billion NT dollars from January to May, a 27.2% yearly increase. Analysts believe their profits will exceed the first quarter due to increased orders and capacity utilization, with expectations for revenue to further rise in the second half as U.S. customers join in orders. The CIS supplier raising prices by 10%-15% is seen as a positive for Catcher. Also, the recovery in the mobile phone market coupled with China's domestic CIS demand increase is likely to boost Catcher's market share and potentially see a record high in revenue for the third quarter.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
Self-traders have been buying over a thousand shares of 14 individual stocks, including Jing Yuan Electronics and China Electric, with a total purchase of more than 48 billion yuan. They have been actively buying back positions for two consecutive days, targeting high-yield stocks for short-term operations in sectors like aviation, container shipping, tech stocks, and power equipment benefiting from the recent market surge.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
In response to TSMC's Kumamoto Fab official launch, Japanese businesses expressed interest in collaborating with Taiwanese semiconductor equipment industry. To assist Taiwanese smart machinery companies in entering the Japanese high-end manufacturing international supply chain, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry led an industry delegation back to Japan for the first time since the pandemic, organizing a two-day Taiwan-Japan mechanical cooperation meeting in Nagoya and Tokyo. The meeting aims to facilitate one-on-one discussions with Japanese partners from industries such as semiconductor equipment, machinery, and tool manufacturing, encouraging potential collaborations and business partnerships.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
On June 16, 2024, at 4:10 PM, UBS significantly raised its outlook for gold prices, increasing the average forecast for this year and year-end target price to $2,365 and $2,600, respectively, and expected to exceed $2,800 in the next two years. The shift reflects a structural change as macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical risks persist. The long-term gold price forecast has also been adjusted, indicating that even though gold prices are expected to eventually fall, they are projected to remain significantly higher at around $2,300 for now.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
The Gretai Securities Market announced a revision in the verification and disclosure procedures for major information of OTC-listed companies, requiring all companies to conduct an annual corporate briefing domestically starting from January 1, 2025. This measure aims to enhance transparency and information disclosure for OTC companies, emphasizing the importance of investor relations management and communication through corporate briefings.
Source: YAHOO
Reported about 1 year ago
TSMC is set to increase prices for its 3nm fabrication process by over 5% and estimates a 10%-20% rise in advanced packaging pricing next year. With the demand exceeding supply for 3nm processes, TSMC's major clients like Apple and NVIDIA have orders filled until 2026. As CoWoS technology becomes more crucial due to AI accelerator demands, TSMC is expanding its capabilities to meet market needs, with projections of a significant price hike for advanced packaging services in the near future.
Source: YAHOO