A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan early yesterday morning, prompting staff evacuations at some production lines, which could cause disruptions in shipments of flat panels.
“Utility supplies were normal and there were no reports of casualties or damage, but production of some equipment was suspended temporarily,” the administration office of Southern Taiwan Science Park said in a statement yesterday.
“Following standard safety procedures, workers were immediately evacuated after the earthquake,” it said.
PHOTO: REUTERS/NATIONAL AIRBORNE SERVICE CORPS
The administration is in charge of Tainan Science Park and Kaohsiung Science Park — where 100-plus production lines, including solar cell maker Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), panel maker Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) and chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) — are located.
The intensity of the quake at Tainan Science Park was 5 on the Richter Scale, while that at Kaohsiung Science Park was 4, the statement said.
“Most of Chi Mei’s production lines have resumed operations,” Chi Mei spokesman Eddie Chen (陳彥松) said by telephone. “Some still need parts or adjustments and we’ll have to clean up the mess.”
PHOTO: CNA
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation’s largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels, suffered “no significant impact” on its finances and operations, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
However, global LCD supply could be disrupted, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Frank Lee said.
Nearly all of Chi Mei’s fabs were affected, although the severity remains unclear, Lee wrote in a note to clients, quoting initial company feedback.
“We could see a pretty significant disruption to the overall LCD supply chain” during the second and third quarters, he wrote.
Meanwhile in Tainan County, firefighters were called in when a fire started in an automated storage warehouse at an Everest Textiles plant in Shanshang Township (山上) following the quake.
United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), the world’s second-largest custom-chipmaker, suffered damage estimated at NT$55 million (US$1.7 million), as production equipment crashed and some tools sustained minor damage, chief financial officer Liu Chi-tung (劉啟東) told Central News Agency.
Production at its 12-inch factory at Tainan Science Park will be delayed by one day and its factory in Singapore will help meet shipment demand, he said.
TSMC estimated losses would be the equivalent of one-and-a-half days of production.
“Assessment reports show that the earthquake had a minimal impact at the Hsinchu fabs. While fabs in Tainan were more seriously affected, they have gradually resumed production,” the world’s largest custom-chip maker said in a statement on its Web site.
Motech Industries and E-Tone Solar Tech Co Ltd (益通光能) said the earthquake would not have a major impact on shipments.
As solar cell production is not as sophisticated as that for panels and chips, employee evacuations and equipment shutdown didn’t hurt as much, they said.
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
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
The Taipei International Cycle Show (Taipei Cycle) yesterday opened at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, with the event’s organizer expecting a steady recovery in the industry this year following a tough last year. This year, 980 companies from 35 countries are participating in the annual bicycle trade show, showcasing technological breakthroughs and market development trends of the bicycle industry at 3,600 booths, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said in a statement. Under the theme “Ride the Revolution,” the exhibition has attracted more than 3,500 international buyers from 80 countries to preregister for the four-day event, which is expected to