DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) expects an uptrend in demand and chip prices to extend into next quarter as telework and remote learning continue to drive purchases of servers and PCs, a company executive said yesterday.
As enterprises and schools sent their employees and students home to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, people have to use computers to work or to learn remotely and connect to the Internet, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told reporters on the sidelines of an annual general meeting in Taoyuan.
“Originally, people expected the second quarter would be a down [season]. Due to telework and online learning, the second quarter is turning out to be a stronger season,” Lee said.
Photo: Hung Yu-fang, Taipei Times
As the penetration rate of PCs remains relatively low and is unlikely to surge overnight, “I believe the [momentum] will last into the third quarter... There is a chance to see a further price uptick,” he said.
Rising data traffic has further spurred demand for faster Internet connections and driven demand for cloud-related equipment and networking devices, Nanya Technology said.
Nanya Technology’s latest comments echoed Micron Technology Inc’s optimism about next quarter. The US company overnight raised its revenue forecast to between US$5.2 billion and US$5.4 billion, from an earlier estimate of between US$4.6 billion and US$5.2 billion.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating US-China trade friction are creating greater uncertainty in the second half for the global economy, which has depressed demand for smartphones and consumer electronics, Lee said.
Asked about the US limiting Huawei Technologies Co’s (華為) access to chips from non-US suppliers, Lee said that Nanya Technology cannot comment on any single client.
The company would do its best to satisfy customers’ demand, while abiding by the law, he said.
Nanya Technology shareholders yesterday approved a cash dividend distribution of NT$1.5 per common share, representing a yield of 2.46 percent based on the chipmaker’s share price of NT$60.9 in Taipei trading.
The pandemic has not caused a serious delay in equipment delivery and the firm is on track to start initial production using 10-nanometer technology in the second half of this year, Nanya Technology chairman Wu Chia-chau (吳嘉昭) said.
The firm’s second-generation 10-nanometer products would begin pilot production in two years, he said.
The chipmaker this year boosted capital spending to NT$9.2 billion (US$306.21 million) to develop 10-nanometer technology.
Nanya Technology, which holds more than 4,200 patents, has established an 800-engineer research team.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said that its research institute has launched its first advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) using traditional Chinese, with technology assistance from Nvidia Corp. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said the LLM, FoxBrain, is expected to improve its data analysis capabilities for smart manufacturing, and electric vehicle and smart city development. An LLM is a type of AI trained on vast amounts of text data and uses deep learning techniques, particularly neural networks, to process and generate language. They are essential for building and improving AI-powered servers. Nvidia provided assistance
GREAT SUCCESS: Republican Senator Todd Young expressed surprise at Trump’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running US lawmakers who helped secure billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturing rejected US President Donald Trump’s call to revoke the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, signaling that any repeal effort in the US Congress would fall short. US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who negotiated the law, on Wednesday said that Trump’s demand would fail, while a top Republican proponent, US Senator Todd Young, expressed surprise at the president’s comments and said he expects the administration to keep the program running. The CHIPS Act is “essential for America leading the world in tech, leading the world in AI [artificial
DOMESTIC SUPPLY: The probe comes as Donald Trump has called for the repeal of the US$52.7 billion CHIPS and Science Act, which the US Congress passed in 2022 The Office of the US Trade Representative is to hold a hearing tomorrow into older Chinese-made “legacy” semiconductors that could heap more US tariffs on chips from China that power everyday goods from cars to washing machines to telecoms equipment. The probe, which began during former US president Joe Biden’s tenure in December last year, aims to protect US and other semiconductor producers from China’s massive state-driven buildup of domestic chip supply. A 50 percent US tariff on Chinese semiconductors began on Jan. 1. Legacy chips use older manufacturing processes introduced more than a decade ago and are often far simpler than
Gasoline and diesel prices this week are to decrease NT$0.5 and NT$1 per liter respectively as international crude prices continued to fall last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to decrease to NT$29.2, NT$30.7 and NT$32.7 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, while premium diesel is to cost NT$27.9 per liter at CPC stations and NT$27.7 at Formosa pumps, the companies said in separate statements. Global crude oil prices dropped last week after the eight OPEC+ members said they would
RSS