ELECTRONICS
LED penetration to hit 23%
The global market penetration rate of LED commercial lighting will soar this year amid growing popularity of the product, LEDinside said in a recent research note, adding that the growth of the global LED commercial lighting market penetration rate will reach 23 percent by the end of the year. The global LED tube market totaled US$2.58 billion last year and will increase substantially to US$8.87 billion by 2018, with Europe, North America and China set to become major markets within the next five years, the market researcher said. Manufacturers should grab this opportunity and improve their products, such as boosting luminous efficacy, lifespan and light quality, LEDinside said. Luminous efficiency, lighting uniformity, color rendering and lifespan are still considered key technologies, it added.
FOOD
Show draws 1,500 exhibitors
This year’s annual Taipei International Food Show, scheduled to open on June 25, has attracted more than 1,500 local and foreign exhibitors occupying more than 3,700 booths, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said yesterday in a statement. The four-day event, which coincides with four other related packaging, processing, machinery and halal food shows, will run until June 28 at the Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall and Exhibition Hall 1. It is expected to attract more than 6,500 international buyers and 58,000 local visitors, TAITRA said. Each day between 1pm and 2pm, there will be promotions for 30 national pavilions, the organizers said. In addition to new product launches, the organizers will also host cooking shows and other promotional activities during the show.
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
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
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