Chi Mei Corp (奇美實業), a leading synthetic and electronic materials supplier, yesterday said that it has incurred more than NT$1 billion (US$35.89 million) in losses after disposing of some of its stake in flat panel maker Innolux Corp (群創光電).
The sale of about 183.71 million Innolux shares, representing a more than 2 percent stake in the company, came after a rethink about how it wanted to reallocate its funds, Chi Mei said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The company disposed of the Innolux shares in four transactions between Aug. 10 and Wednesday last week and it rceived NT$3.26 billion from the sales, incurring NT$1.114 billion in losses.
Those funds would be invested in US dollar-denominated bonds, which are expected to yield a higher return, said Chi Mei, whose stake in Innolux has now fallen to 0.83 percent at a time when flat panel prices are falling due to weakening global demand.
Innolux shares hit NT$32.55 on April 29, a 10-year intraday high, but they have since come under pressure amid concerns over falling product prices.
The shares fell 47 percent between April 29 and Wednesday last week, the last day Chi Mei sold Innolux shares.
Before the disposal, Chi Mei was Innolux’s third-largest shareholder with a 2.59 percent stake, trailing Hon Hai Group’s (鴻海集團) 6.79 percent and the Labor Pension Fund’s 2.89 percent, according to Innolux’s latest annual report.
Innolux posted its highest-ever quarterly net profit of NT$21.4 billion in the second quarter, or earnings per share at NT$2.05, but flat panel prices, especially large screens for TVs, have since fallen.
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