MANUFACTURING
IEK lowers output forecast
The Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK, 產業經濟與趨勢研究中心) yesterday lowered its forecast for the local manufacturing sector’s production value growth, taking into account trade friction between the US and China. The output of the manufacturing sector is expected to grow 3.27 percent annually to NT$18.89 trillion (US$616.68 billion) this year, the center said. Taiwanese manufacturers should diversify their production bases and keep a close eye on fluctuations on the global foreign exchange market, it said. In April, the center estimated a 3.29 percent output increase by local manufacturers.
OPTICAL
Firms to expand capacity
Catalyzed by a trend toward multiple lenses in smartphones and surging demand for telematics, demand for lenses has soared amid severe undersupply. In response to demand from clients, several local lens makers — Largan Precision Co (大立光), Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光), Newmax Technology Co (新鉅科), Calin Technology Co (佳凌), Glory Science Co Ltd (光燿科) and Ability Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd (先進光) — are expected to substantially expand their capacities, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing industry sources. The overall capacity of local lens makers was forecast to increase 50 percent to 100 percent over the next three years, the newspaper said.
STORAGE
Ritek to trim paid-in capital
Ritek Corp (錸德), the nation’s leading optical disc maker, on Wednesday said that it plans to reduce its paid-in capital by 27.31 percent from NT$17.67 billion to NT$12.84 billion to improve its capital structure and offset accumulated losses. The capital reduction was scheduled to take effect yesterday. Ritek shares yesterday rose 3.36 percent, compared with the broader market’s 0.07 percent decline, and have risen 230.47 percent this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
CHIPMAKERS
Winbond issues bonds
Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), the world’s third-largest NOR flash memorychip supplier, has issued NT$10 billion of secured ordinary corporate bonds, the nation’s largest bond issuance of its kind this year. The bonds carry a fixed rate of 1 percent per annum and the proceeds would be used to finance capital expenditure, repay bank loans and increase working capital, Winbond said on Tuesday. The company plans to build a new fab in Kaohsiung costing NT$355 billion, as its 12-inch fab in the Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung is expected to reach full production capacity next year.
SOLAR ENERGY
India duty could spur sales
India’s plan to cut imports of Chinese solar cells and modules by imposing a safeguard duty might have the opposite effect in the short term, ICBC International Research Ltd (工銀國際證券) said yesterday. Stockpiles could rise rapidly as Indian developers hoard more modules before the proposal to impose a 25 percent safeguard tariff is expected to take effect in the next two to three months, the firm said in a note. Taiwanese solar cell and module makers would be covered by India’s safeguard duty, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said on Wednesday. Taiwan sold US$92.07 million of solar cells and modules to India last year, only 2.23 percent of the South Asian country’s total imports, the bureau said.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
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