ProMOS sells Hynix shares
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the nation’s third-largest computer memory chipmaker, said yesterday it had sold a 8.6 percent stake to South Korean chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor Inc for NT$3.46 billion (US$109.8 million) through private placement.
Hynix bought 576 million ProMOS common share at NT$6 a share via Korea Exchange Bank Co Ltd. ProMOS will soon arrange a seat for Hynix on its 11-member board, company spokeswoman Jessie Peng (彭卓蘭) said by telephone.
ProMOS said in May that it planned to start using Hynix’s 50 nanometer technology to produce chips by the end of the year, or early next year.
Four injured at TSMC site
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest custom-chip maker, said four workers were injured when they fell from the second floor of a chip factory construction site.
One worker had surgery, another is awaiting surgery and a third was being treated for broken bones, TSMC spokesman Michael Kramer said yesterday. A fourth worker has been released from hospital, he said.
TSMC doesn’t expect any impact on the construction schedule of the factory, which is being built in Hsinchu, and doesn’t see any liability from the incident, Kramer said. He declined to comment further on the extent of the injuries.
The workers were moving a power transformer for ABB Ltd at the time, Kramer said. All four are Taiwanese and were employed by a local firm contracted by ABB, he said.
German agents hunt pirates
German customs agents swarmed through the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin shortly after the expo opened yesterday, hunting for non-payers of royalties.
Major targets appeared to be Asian electronics makers.
The raids were led by Berlin prosecutors.
There were similar raids at the CeBIT electronics fair in Hanover in March. Many of the allegations involve patented software in the digital devices. The patent owners expect royalties or fees every time the software is used.
Norbert Scheithauer, a Berlin-region spokesman for the German customs service, said 220 agents had been deployed to raid about 50 booths at IFA and would continue their work until last night.
A German online news service, FAZ.net, said the Taiwan Image Hall, where top Taiwanese designs were shown, was a target.
Agents brought cartons and took away TV sets, receivers for terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB-T) and MP3 players.
Investment applications pass
The Investment Commission yesterday approved China Steel Corp’s (中國鋼鐵) application to invest US$292.74 million in its plant located in the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The plant is scheduled for commercial operation in 2011, the company says on its Web site.
The commission also approved Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp’s (奇美電子) application for outward remittance of US$60 million to increase its investment in its subsidiaries in Nanhai, China.
The commission also greenlighted Chi Mei Corp’s (奇美實業) application for outward remittance of US$92.95 million to increase its investment in Chi Mei Chemical Co (奇美化工) in Zhenjiang, China, along with two other Chinese companies.
The commission approved Netherlands-based W.P.V. Holding BV’s application for inward remittance of NT$790 million to purchase new shares from Gsharp Corp (浩緯實業) and to acquire 100 percent of shares in Cable-Giant Catv Co (大新店民主有線電視) through indirect investment.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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