RETAILERS
FamilyMart plan approved
Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店), the nation’s second-biggest convenience store chain, plans to invest NT$16.8 billion (US$592.7 million) to expand its logistics facilities amid a rise in online shopping, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday as it approved the company’s application to join the government’s “Invest in Taiwan” initiative. FamilyMart said it plans to expand its logistics capacity in Taichung, Hualien County and Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The new facilities are to start operations next year and in 2024. The company operates eight logistics centers in Taiwan. Part of the investment would be to install solar panels on the rooftops of the centers with assistance from AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), FamilyMart said. The investment would create about 2,000 jobs, the ministry said.
PANEL MAKERS
AUO to invest in Taichung
The Taichung City Government yesterday welcomed an announcement by LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) that it is to invest more than NT$100 billion to build an advanced G8.5 production line in the city. The new facility is to be built in the Houli District (后里) section of the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區). AUO last month told investors that it planned to use the new facilities to make high-end flat panels for notebook computers and monitors, with an aim to expand its market share. The company also plans to ramp up micro-LED display production at the new facilities, it said, adding that operations are to begin in 2025.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC revenue rises
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday said revenue last month expanded 37.9 percent to NT$146.93 billion from NT$106.53 billion a year earlier. On a monthly basis, revenue dipped 14.7 percent from NT$172.18 billion. In the first two months of this year, revenue surged 36.8 percent to NT$319.11 billion, from NT$233.28 billion in the same period last year, the company said. Separately, Gudeng Precision Industrial Co Ltd (家登), the sole supplier of extreme ultraviolet pods to TSMC, reported annual revenue growth of 53 percent to NT$277 million last month, benefiting from capacity expansion among customers. However, last month’s figure declined 17.56 percent from NT$336 million in January due to fewer working days, it said. In the first two months, revenue soared 52.68 percent year-on-year to NT$402 million, Gudeng said, adding that it has clear order visibility through the third quarter.
BICYCLES
Giant, Merida results mixed
The nation’s two major bicycle makers, Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達), yesterday reported mixed revenue results for last month. Giant, Taiwan’s largest bicycle manufacturer, posted revenue of NT$6.69 billion, an annual increase of 18.93 percent, the company said in a statement. Giant attributed the growth to strong sales in the US, Europe and China, as well as higher shipments from its contract business. Merida’s revenue fell 14.9 percent annually to NT$2.297 billion, Merida said in a separate statement. The firm blamed the decline on a high comparison base. In the first two months of this year, Giant’s revenue grew 9.61 percent year-on-year to NT$13.36 billion, while Merida’s revenue dropped 0.18 percent to NT$4.82 billion and shipments declined 12.78 percent to 159,674 units. Giant did not offer a shipments figure.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
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