■ Computers
Notebooks outsell PCs in US
In a sure sign that the era of mobile computing has arrived, notebooks have for the first time outsold desktops in the US in a calendar month, the research firm Current Analysis says. After tracking sales from a sampling of electronics retailers, Current Analysis says notebook sales accounted for 53 percent of the total personal computer market last month, up from 46 percent during the same period last year. San Diego-based Current Analysis does not follow worldwide personal computer sales. Spurring demand for notebooks is their overall price drop as quality has improved, says Sam Bhavnani, senior analyst for Current Analysis. Notebook prices fell 17 percent during the past year while desktop prices dipped only 4 percent.
■ Electronics
HannStar mulls merger
HannStar Display Corp (瀚羽彩晶) may seek to merge with rival Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) or Innolux Display Corp (群創光電), the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported, citing unidentified people in the industry. The Walsin Lihwa Group (華新麗華集團), which controls HannStar, plans to sell some of its businesses, the newspaper cited Walsin Lihwa Corp chairman Chiao You-lun (焦佑倫) as saying. HannStar Display, Innolux, and Chi Mei all declined to comment, the newspaper said. HannStar Display, Taiwan's fifth-largest maker of flat-panel displays by market value, had a NT$4.5 billion (US$144 million) loss in the first quarter. Innolux Display is a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Taiwan's largest electronics company by sales.
■ Banking
Japan increases lending
Japan's seven biggest lenders are increasing loans to real-estate businesses as land prices in metropolitan area have stopped falling, boosting construction, the Nihon Keizai reported, citing the Bank of Japan. New loans to the real-estate industry by domestic banks jumped 15.3 percent to ?8.17 trillion (US$75.9 billion) in the fiscal year ended on March 31, the newspaper said. The increase is driven by so-called nonrecourse loans, a type of lending that is restricted to a specific real estate business, the paper said. The balance of nonrecourse loans held by Japan's seven biggest lenders topped ?4 trillion (US$37.1 billion) at the end of March, an increase of 50 percent on the year, the paper said. Under nonrecourse loans, funds are provided for a specific real-estate project, and repayment is limited to the profits generated by that particular venture, putting the focus on profitability from rent and other income, the paper said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
RSS