Leading industrialists yesterday called on the government to keep relief and stimulus measures alive, saying that tough times lie ahead as local tech firms would be digesting rush orders toward the end of this quarter, because of remote working and telecommuting trends.
Rock Hsu (許勝雄), chairman of the Third Wednesday Club (三三會), whose membership is limited to the top 100 firms in each business sector, spoke to reporters prior to a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Taipei.
“The government had better prepare an extended version of relief and stimulus measures, as the industry will need it after fulfilling orders” to make chips for electronic parts used in laptops, desktops, TVs and other products, Hsu said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Local technology firms have benefited from a surge in demand for devices that have enabled companies and schools around the world to operate, despite travel inconveniences and social distancing, said Hsu, who is chairman of contract notebook maker Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦).
Such rush orders would come to an end later this quarter, making the fourth quarter — normally the high sales season — a tough challenge, he said, adding that the global economy is still in a shambles.
Major tech firms have declined to give business guidance beyond the current quarter, citing poor order visibility.
The US’ Apple Inc has said that it would postpone new iPhone releases and China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) is reportedly is slowing its deployment of 5G products after a Washington ban has limited it from obtaining foreign-made chips developed or produced using US software or technology.
Manufacturers of mineral, plastic, base metal and other non-tech products would also continue to struggle due to sluggish demand, Hsu said.
Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會) chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said that there is still ample room for the government to augment relief and stimulus measures, which currently stand at 6.6 percent of GDP, while packages in other countries account for more than 10 percent of GDP.
The government could do so by lowering the business tax or sparing companies the levy on retained earnings, at least temporarily, Lin said.
Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) said that the government could consider issuing a second batch of Triple Stimulus Vouchers to shore up domestic demand if its budget allows.
Most business tycoons painted the plans by the Ministry of Labor to raise monthly basic wages by NT$200 to NT$24,000 as unfavorable, but bearable.
The wage adjustments must still be approved by the Cabinet.
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
STILL HOPEFUL: Delayed payment of NT$5.35 billion from an Indian server client sent its earnings plunging last year, but the firm expects a gradual pickup ahead Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor, yesterday reported an 87 percent slump in net profit for last year, dragged by a massive overdue payment from an Indian cloud service provider. The Indian customer has delayed payment totaling NT$5.35 billion (US$162.7 million), Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told an online earnings conference. Asustek shipped servers to India between April and June last year. The customer told Asustek that it is launching multiple fundraising projects and expected to repay the debt in the short term, Wu said. The Indian customer accounted for less than 10 percent to Asustek’s
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)