Dutch electronics and medical equipment giant Philips said yesterday it had completed the spin-off of its television division to Hong Kong-based LCD screen and computer maker TPV Technology (冠捷).
Philips retains a 30 percent stake, while TPV Technology holds 70 percent in the joint venture, called TP Vision, which will design, manufacture and sell Philips brand TVs throughout most of the world.
“TP Vision will be a strong player in the global TV market and will ensure the continuity of the Philips TV brand in the market,” Philips chief executive officer Frans van Houten said in a statement.
The 3,000 employees and facilities in the Philips TV division will be transferred to TP Vision, which will be headquartered in the Netherlands.
TP Vision will not be able to sell Philips TVs in China, India and the US because the rights to the Philips brand have been sold to other manufacturers.
Philips’ TV unit posted a loss of 54 million euros (US$72 million) in the third quarter of last year amid intense competition from Asian manufacturers.
When announcing the spin-off deal in November last year, Philips said it would take a 270 million euro charge in its fourth quarter earnings in addition to about 110 million euros charged in previous quarters.
Philips, which employs 120,000 people, focused for decades on making televisions and household electrical devices.
About 10 years ago it began developing a medical equipment division, providing such devices as scanners and lighting systems.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and