Japanese consumer electronics giants Toshiba and Sharp are in talks on a possible tie-up in the solar power generation field, the companies said yesterday.
“It is true that we are holding talks on the solar cell business with other companies, including Toshiba,” Sharp Corp spokeswoman Miyuki Nakayama said, declining to give further details.
Sharp wants to enhance its solar business further, with its solar cell revenue expected to reach ¥170 billion (US$1.7 billion) globally in the year to Tuesday, up 12 percent from last year, Nakayama said.
Toshiba, which announced its full entry into solar power in January, said the company was also seeking a supply source of solar or photovoltaic cell panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
“We are mulling where to procure panels as we do not make them ... Sharp is one of the companies under our consideration,” Toshiba spokeswoman Hiroko Mochida said, adding that nothing concrete had been decided yet.
Toshiba, which is strong on building systems that distribute generated power, aims to achieve annual sales of ¥200 billion by 2016 in the photovoltaic systems business.
The mass-circulation Asahi Shumbun reported yesterday that Sharp would provide panels to Toshiba, which would in turn supply distribution systems to Sharp.
Another daily, the Sankei Shimbun, said an economic stimulus package the government and ruling party were expected to draw up next month would include ¥2 trillion in spending to mount solar panels on public buildings.
The navy has installed 13 Phalanx Block 1B close-in weapons systems on its warships, increasing their defensive firepower, a defense official said on Saturday. The systems cost the navy NT$10.16 billion (US$314.67 million), while eight additional Block 1A systems are being upgraded in the US and are expected to be delivered next year, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Phalanx system used by Taiwan to defend its warships and key radar installations is a radar-cued gun system capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute at targets as far away as 1.5km, the official said. With their superior range of
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data