ENERGY
Temperature, usage spike
Electricity consumption soared yesterday as temperatures topped 30°C, resulting in the sixth orange warning this month, state-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said. An orange warning indicates that the operating reserve margin has fallen below 6 percent. Electricity consumption peaked at 32.34 million kilowatts at 11:22am, when the operating reserve margin fell to 4.51 percent, or 1.46 million kilowatts, Taipower said. However, rain in the afternoon helped drive down temperatures, easing the burden, the firm said, adding that with the arrival of seasonal plum rains, power consumption is likely to ease in the coming weeks.
TECHNOLOGY
Synnex profits fall 6% yearly
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), which distributes computers and handsets, yesterday reported net income of NT$1.14 billion (US$37.8 million) for last quarter, down 6 percent from NT$1.21 billion in the same period last year. Earnings per share fell from NT$0.72 to NT$0.68, the firm said in a statement. Synnex attributed the decline to various challenges in the market, including weak industry demand, deferred launches of new cellphones, a shortage of key components and appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar. Foreign exchange losses totaled NT$140 million in the quarter, Synnex said.
BANKING
SinoPac denies allegations
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) yesterday denied allegations that its banking arm violated rules limiting lending to interested parties. Lawmakers accused Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行) of organizing a US$435 million loan for Sun Power Development and Construction Co (三寶建設) and a number of privately held investment companies under its control. Among the investment companies is Star City, whose board of directors include Chang Hsing-ju (張杏如), wife of SinoPac chairman Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川). SinoPac said in a statement that Chang’s term on the board of directors had ended six months before the loans were approved on Dec. 14, 2012.
MANUFACTURING
Laster Tech profits skyrocket
Laster Tech Corp Ltd (麗清科技), an LED chip and lighting products supplier, yesterday said net income last quarter skyrocketed to NT$85.3 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.25, from NT$31.9 million in the same period last year, or NT$0.53 per share, supported by increasing adoption of automotive LED lights. Sales in the first three months of this year soared 50.9 percent from NT$677.5 million to NT$1.02 billion, a statement said. The automotive parts manufacturer attributed the strong performance to robust demand from its major Chinese customers, such as Great Wall Motor Co (長城汽車) and Shanghai Koito Automotive Lamp Co Ltd (上海小糸), despite a foreign exchange loss of nearly NT$76 million for the first quarter. The company has approved a plan to issue convertible bonds worth NT$701.4 million, in an effort to repay bank loans and improve its financial structure.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Yuan deposits extend slide
Chinese yuan deposits last month decreased 0.35 percent month-on-month to 307.97 billion yuan (US$44.65 million), continuing a downtrend seen in the previous months, the central bank said yesterday. Yuan deposits at domestic banking units fell 0.62 percent to 275.36 billion yuan from the previous month, while yuan deposits at their overseas banking units rose 2.02 percent to 32.61 billion yuan, it said.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI