Prime News | | | | Labor Pension Fund Steps Into the Domestic Bourse
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--The new labor pension fund has stepped into the domestic bourse, as the labor pension fund supervisory commission has remitted NT$30 billion to 10 fund managers for discretionary-account operation the other day, revealed Li Jui-chu, vice chairperson of the commission yesterday (Sept. 28). The entry of the fund into the stock market, half a month ahead of its original schedule of mid-October, is expected to give a shot in the arm for the market, coinciding with return of foreign funds into the market in the wake of strong upturn of the NT dollar, as induced by the narrowing interest-rate gap between NT dollar and U.S. dollar, and imminent entrance of some new mutual funds, estimated also at NT$30 billion. As of yesterday, foreign investors had remitted over US$1 billion into the island over the past three trading sessions, fueled by NT dollar's 1.35% appreciation against the U.S. dollar over the past six trading sessions. The NT dollar appreciated NT$0.158 closing at US$1=NT$32.677 yesterday, a three-month high, on expanded trading volume of US$2.155 billion, the ninth largest ever. The 10 entrusted fund managers will spare no effort in achieving the minimum 12% annual returns for the discretionary-account operation during the three-year contract period, as required by the labor pension fund supervisory commission, since their performances are critical for them to retain or even expand the huge business from the labor pension fund, which is expanding at annual clip of NT$100 billion over the initial scale of NT$180 billion upon its establishment in 2005. The imminent stock investment is the first step on the part of the labor pension fund supervisory commission in attempting to boost returns of the fund, breaking the confinement of the huge fund to time deposits earning meager interest rates before its establishment in July this year. ((PL)) (GE) | | | | | Housing Investors Facing Downside Risk: CBC Paper
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Housing investors appear to be facing major downside risks, due to hefty housing-price hike in the first half this year and the lingering large supply, according to a paper of the Central Bank of China (CBC). The paper was sent to the Legislative Yuan yesterday (Sept. 28), in preparation for the business report to be delivered by Perng Fai-nan, CBC governor, there next Monday (October 1). It notes that new-housing price index compiled by Cathay Real Estate jumped 3.24% sequentially in the second quarter, when the preowned-house price index compiled by Sinyi Realty advanced 2.39%, with new-housing price index in Taipei City even soaring 25%. Meanwhile, new-housing supply still tops 50,000 units now. The CBC points out that it is noteworthy whether the high housing prices will turn southward, in view of appearance of housing bubbles in the U.S. and Europe, as well as the impact of the U.S. subprime housing-loan upheaval. The paper also reveals the CBC's intention to hike interest rates further, reiterating its adherence to the policy of raising New Taiwan dollar interest rates via micro adjustment, in order to nudge the rates towards the neutral level and create an environment favorable to sustained economic growth. It explains that such policy is essential for achieving reasonable fund allocation and maintaining long-term financial stability, especially in view of soaring international oil and other raw-material prices, continuing moderate expansion of the economy, mounting inflationary pressure, and still low actual interest rates. The CBC believes sharp appreciation of the NT dollar will not impact the stock market, as exchange-rate fluctuation is not a major consideration for most foreign investors, only 2.69% of whom had undertaken exchange-rate risk hedging as of mid-September. ((PL)) (GE) | |
| | | Hiwin Garners Three-year Order From Europe
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Hiwin Technologies Corp., Taiwan's largest manufacturer of mechanical components, recently announced that its Germany affiliate—Hiwin GmbH has clinched an order from DMG, the largest machine-tool manufacturer in Europe. The deal was closed at the EMO Hannover 2007, the world's largest machine-tool exhibition, which ran from Sept. 17-22 at Messe Hannover of Germany. Beginning from 2008, Hiwin will supply precision mechanical components to DMG over three years. Thanks to the deal, it is estimated Hiwin GmbH will see annual sales top 50 million euros in 2008, becoming the third-largest supplier of linear transmission components. In addition to DMG, other outstanding firms in Europe have also placed orders with Hiwin. They are Homag Co., Europe's largest manufacturer of woodworking machinery; Heller Co., the specialized supplier of processing equipment for Mercedes Benz and BMW automobiles; and Manz Co. and Ekra Co., both are best-known suppliers of solar-energy equipment. Hiwin Technologies president Eric Y.T. Chuo said Hiwin GmbH has seen annual sales quadrupled over the past five years. The German affiliate achieved 60% and 50% annual growth in orders volume and sales in the first eight months of this year. At present, Hiwin GmbH has an 8% market share in Germany in the field of roller screws and linear guideways. In the next few years, the company will catch up with the pace of such big names as THK and Star in the linear transmission products. Chuo stressed that his company is poised to become the world's largest manufacturer of roller screws, the world's third-largest manufacturers of linear guideways, and the world's fourth-largest manufactures of robots. Hiwin Technologies noted that its production capacity will sharply increase after its two plants, one each located in Yunlin Technology Industrial park and Taichung Precision Machinery Industrial Park, are completed in the next few years. It is estimated Hiwin Technologies will see annual sales break the NT$10 billion (US$303.03 million at US$1:NT$33) mark in 2009 to meet the goal set by the MOEA as a NT$10 billion flagship firm domestically. ((BS)) (M) | | | | | MOEA Deregulates Offshore Wind-generating Power Plants
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--In an attempt to develop new energy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has recently liberalized the rules regulating applications for establishing offshore wind-generating power plants. In the early stage, the MOEA will allow the establishment of the wind-generating power plants with capacity amounting to 300,000 kilowatts. In the final stage, the capacity will be expanded to 1.2 million kilowatts. The liberation of the establishment of offshore wind-generating power plants will bring in an overall production value of NT$120 billion (US$3.63 billion at US$1:NT$33). It has been reported that the state-run Taiwan Power Company and a private-sector firm have expressed their willingness to apply for the establishment of offshore wind-generating power plants. The Bureau of Energy under the MOEA hopes the island's first wind farm will be established by 2013 to become the largest of its kind in the entire Asian region. The Bureau of Energy noted Taiwan has great potential to develop offshore wind-generating power, especially wind-generating power is one of the most important items in developing renewable energies. Many domestic firms, including Teco Electric & Machinery Co., China Steel Corporation, Delta Electronics Inc., and Tatung Co., are struggling for the business opportunities released from wind-generating power facilities. Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms, such as electricity, using wind turbines. At the end of 2006, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 74,223 megawatts; although it currently produces just over 1% of worldwide electricity use, it accounts for approximately 20% of electricity use in Denmark, 9% in Spain, and 7% in Germany. Globally, wind power generation more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2006. Most modern wind-powered generators use rotating turbines to generate electrical current by means of an electrical generator. Windmills (a much older technology) use wind energy to turn mechanical mechanisms to do physical work, such as crushing grain or pumping water. Wind power is used in large-scale wind farms for national power grids as well as in small individual turbines for providing electricity to rural residences or grid-isolated locations. ((BS)) (GE) | | | | | ACME Begins Shipping LED Sapphire Substrates
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--ACME Electronics Corp. has recently begun shipping sapphire substrates for making light-emitting diodes (LEDs), becoming another Taiwanese manufacturer in this line. ACME was spun off from petrochemical manufacturer USI Corp. in 1991 into an independent company. The company's shipment of the material has caught an eye of Taiwanese insiders of the industrial line since its core business is manufacturing and sales of ferrite cores and powders, which are elements for making inductance passive electronic components such as power transformers, loaded coils, choke and demagnetization coil that apply to 3C products. Energy issue has inspired global promotions of power-conservative products like LEDs. Some industry watchers estimated replacing all traditional lamps with LED lamps can help Taiwan save around 40% of electricity consumption a year. Lighting uses 26 billion kilowatt hour of electricity a year in Taiwan and LED replacement is estimated to save 10.4 billion kilowatt hour, an equivalent generated by a nuclear power plant. ACME plans to increase its sapphire-crystal growing machine to 20 systems by the end of this year and 120 systems in 2010 from current three systems. Crystal ingot output for this year is projected at 5.2 millimeters and 72 mm for next year. Added equipment is estimated to boost the company's output to 1.75 million millimeters in 2009 and 3.13 million millimeters in 2010. The company estimated investments would likely see return in five years. Institutional investors expected the company's sapphire-substrate business to contribute NT$2 per share to the company's earnings in 2009 and NT$3 in 2010. ACME's materials will likely become a major material source for LED chipmakers Epistar Corp. and Formosa Epitaxy Inc. Statistics show that Taiwan's sapphire-substrate market was about NT$1 billion (US$30 million at US$1:NT$33) in 2004 and NT$2 billion (US$60 million) in the following year. Currently, Taiwanese demand for the LED material is estimated at 200,000-250,000 sapphire wafers a month, which is predicted to drive corporate revenues in 2008. Industry watchers pointed out that currently major supplier of the materials are Honeywell, Monocrystal, Rubicon and Kyocera and their mainstream products come in two inches in diameter. They added that ACME's involvement in the production will help strengthen structure of Taiwan's sapphire-substrate industry and competitiveness of the island's LED industry. Thriving market has inspired manufacturers of blank silicon wafers to jump on the bandwagon. Sino-American Silicon Products, Inc. began diversifying into sapphire-substrate manufacturing two years ago and currently puts out around 30,000 wafers of the substrates a month. ((KL)) (E) | | | | | TSMC Gains Sony's HDTV Chip Foundry Order
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. has recently outsourced production of mobile TV chips on foundry basis to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), according to industry sources. Taiwanese industry watchers pointed out that the contract helps illustrate TSMC's dominant position in supplying built-to-order chips for mobile TVs especially TSMC has also secured similar contract from MediaTek Inc., currently Taiwan's biggest supplier of the TV chips. In the meantime, Sony is working with system-on-a-chip design house Global Union on chipset compatible with Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld (DVB-H) TV standard. The sources said if the chipset is accepted by cellphone makers such as Sony's joint venture with Sweden's Ericsson, Sony could start placing large-volume orders for the chipsets with TSCM. The sources pointed out that the chipset is designed on 65-nanometer rule. The chipset is likely to be Sony's another 65-nm product built at TSMC after it recently contracted TSMC to make its digital-camera chips using 65-nm process. Taiwanese industry watchers pointed out that Sony's contract reveals deepening of division-of-labor trend of global semiconductor industry. However, TSMC and affiliate Global have declined to comment on the media report. Sony's orders, industry watchers said, will help weigh the portion contributed by Japanese customers in TSMC's revenue. Until the end of the second quarter this year, Japanese contracts represented only 4% of the silicon-foundry giant's revenue. Industry watchers pointed out that besides Sony, many Japanese integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) of the chip-making industry have increased outsourcing to pure foundry suppliers in recent years in a bid to reduce expensive spending on new facilities. For instance, Toshiba, NEC, and Fujitsu have entered into alliance on leading-edge process such as 45-nm and 65-nm nodes while Renesas and Matsushita form similar partnership. The watchers analyzed that although mobile-TV market has not taken off, wining Sony's orders will help TSMC distance it with rivals in the market for mobile-TV chip foundry considering Sony is already among global top three suppliers of digital TVs. Some Taiwanese chip-making insiders consider TSMC's wining of Sony's TV chip orders as a result of the foundry supplier's new strategy for further boosting earnings by teaming up with big-name end-product suppliers. ((KL)) | | | | | MediVas Announces Setting Up Asian Operation Center in Taiwan
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--MediVas LLC of the United States, a developer of novel drug delivery platforms, recently announced the setting up of its Asian operation center in Taiwan and plans to invest US$20 million to build a R&D center and drug production plant on the island. Medivas has been seeking a proper site for locating its Asian operation center for over one year. The American drug developer originally planned to choose South Korea as its beachhead in Asia, but the decision finally changed to Taiwan thanks to the aggressive persuasion of local Development Center for Biotechnology (DCB). Kenneth Carpenter, MediVas president and CEO, said that his company would utilize its novel amino acid-based Poly(Ester Amide) copolymers (PEA), the first of a new-generation of absorbable and biocompatible drug and biologic delivery platforms, to help improve and refine protein and chemical drugs. He also added that after the establishment of the Asian operation center in Taiwan, MediVas hopes to develop new-type "super generic drugs." According to DCB, Carpenter investigated some Asian nations in the past one year, including South Korea, Singapore, mainland China, and Taiwan. After the president called upon DCB, the local biotech center sent hundreds of emails and staff twice to persuade Carpenter at MediVas' American headquarters. After in-person talks with DCB chairman Shu-min Wu and some ranking government officials, MediVas decided to cancel its agreement with South Korean government and switched over to Taiwan. Carpenter highly rates the intellectual-property protection and sound investment environment in Taiwan and hopes to continue expanding the scale of MediVas' Taiwan R&D center. Carpenter said that his company's PEA drug and biologic delivery platform has been cooperating with big international pharmaceutical makers such as Merck, Pfizer, Wyeth, Abott, GSK etc. to help the partners improve their protein drugs. Established in 1998, MediVas has been trying vigorously to achieve a simple goal-- to change the way that pharmaceuticals are delivered. From small molecule drugs to whole proteins, the company claims, MediVas has developed a novel platform technology that provides solutions to meet each challenge. All MediVas polymers are designed and produced only by MediVas at its 48,000 square foot facility in San Diego to meet the exact specifications of each pharmaceutical or medical device application. MediVas is utilizing its novel polymer technology in collaboration with some of the world's largest pharmaceutical and medical device companies, such as Merck, Pfizer, Wyeth, Abott, GSK etc., as well as its own internal product development efforts, Carpenter said. Using this platform technology, MediVas is currently focusing its development efforts on the different therapeutic areas, including drug eluting stents, immunology, and delivery of biologics. ((QL)) (G) | | | | | Domestic LCD TV Market Undergoes Structural Changes
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Taiwan's domestic LCD TV market saw some structural changes after fierce underselling competition, in that brands with supports from affiliated thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) manufacturers won the top-three positions, including Tatung, ChiMei, and BenQ, in the first eight months of the year. Tatung, the No. 1 LCD TV brand the said period, benefited from support of its affiliated CPT Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd. (CPT), the third-largest TFT-LCD panel maker on the island; the No. 2 ChiMei got cost-competitive panels from affiliated Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO), the second-largest panel supplier in Taiwan; while the No. 3 BenQ received supplies from AU Optronics (AUO), the largest player of its kind in Taiwan. Industry insiders said that several major brands are actively striving to become the market leader, including Sony, Panasonic, LG, Teco etc., and a cut-throat price-cutting competition is expected to come by the end of the year with up-to-NT$5000 (US$152 at US$1: NT$33) price decline of a 37-, 40-, or 42-inch model while a NT$10,000 (US$303)-up cut of a over-46-inch (including) model. According to local LCD TV makers, the stably rising domestic LCD TV market has been attracting more and more brands from home-appliance and information technology (IT) lines to push newer, better, and more affordable models into the market. In the first eight months, over 480,000 LCD TVs were sold in Taiwan, up over 50% from about 320,000 units in the same period of last year. The LCD TV penetration rate on the island has outstripped 60%. Tatung was the No. 1 LCD TV brand in Taiwan in the first eight months by selling about 63,000 units, compared with the No. 2 ChiMei's 58,700 units. In the past few months, BenQ has been intensively cooperating with major 3C (computer, communication, and consumer electronics) distribution chains and hyper-markets to push a 32-inch "combat model" priced at under NT$20,000 (US$606), and a 37-inch model with a price tag of only NT$29,900 (US$906). With the successful low-price strategy, BenQ defeated last year's No. 1 brand Panasonic with a minor lead to become the No. 3 brand in domestic market. Larry Hsiao, president of Tatung Consumer Products Taiwan Co., Ltd., the sales arm of Tatung-brand LCD TVs, said that his company pushed the most price-competitive LCD TVs (from 20- to 42-inch models) in all-size markets with the strong support from affiliated panel maker CPT. In August only, he added, Tatung sold 13,250 LCD TVs, up about 300% from the same period of last year. Tatung has the chance to challenge a monthly sales record of over 15,000 units as the increasing popularity of 20-inch models in the under-26-inch market segment. According to Hsiao, there will be another price-cutting wave of 37- and 42-inch models by the end of the year, but the prices of 32-inch models cannot be cut further. | | | | | Taiwan Sees Sharp Rise of 35.8% in Orders From Europe in August
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Export orders received by Taiwan's manufacturers and traders hit a record monthly high of US$30.49 billion in August for an annual rise of 16.32%, with orders from Europe posting the highest growth of 35.8%, according to the statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The corresponding value is expected to rise further to an estimate of US$31 billion in September. In the first eight months of this year Taiwan's export order value accumulated to US$219.7 billion, up 14.6% from the corresponding figure of last year, and the value of orders from Europe alone also witnessed a sharp growth of 25.67%. Huang Chi-shih, director general at the Statistics Department of MOEA, forecast that before the end of this year the monthly export orders received would be around US$30 billion and the value for the full year would reach US$340 billion as a result. In August alone, the ratio of orders filled abroad ballooned to 47.39%, implying near half of domestic production lines moving out of the island. In the same month, information technology (IT) and telecom products posted annual growth of 31.72% due to rising market demand for notebook computers; and consumer electronics chalked up by 17.6% while precision apparatuses and devices soared by 48.58% resulting from hectic demand on various LCD panels. Beginning this year Taiwan has experienced a downward trend in annual growth of the orders from the United States. In the first eight months, the annual growth of orders from the U.S. posted at 6.09% although in May alone the growth hit a high of 10.85%. The percentage fell to 7.72% in June and declined further to 6.51% in July. In August Taiwan received US$7.19 billion worth of orders from the U.S., accounting for 23.59% of Taiwan's total export-order value. However, the annual growth further tumbled to 3.77%. In the same month, the orders received from Europe were valued at US$5.46 billion for a share of 17.9%. The major items exported to Europe were computers, telecom products, and electronic devices. Huang attributed the shrinking growth in orders from the U.S. to the latter's increasing emphasis on the emerging economies in Asia, particularly Vietnam that seemed to have gradually replaced Taiwan as a U.S. supplier of some traditional products. In August the annual growth of Taiwan's industrial production was 10.21% and that of manufacturing production 11.27%, which reduced to 5.58% for the former and 5.91% for the latter in the first eight months. ((JL)) (GE) | | | | | Chinatrust to Tap Credit Card Market in Thailand Next Year
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Taiwan's Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. and Thailand's Government Saving Bank (GSB), a Thai bank, are jointly establishing a credit cared issuing firm in Thailand, which is reportedly to be approved in October and become operational early next year. The projected company, named as "SAWASDY Card Company," will be the first Taiwanese-invested credit card firm overseas. Chinatrust will funnel 1.421 billion Thai baht into the joint venture in three years and will hold a 49% stake in the company, while GSB will command the remaining 51%. The firm's chairman will come from GSB and the management team from Chinatrust. Currently there are a total of 11 million credit cards floating in Thailand, much lower than the corresponding 33 million credit cards issued in Taiwan. Chinatrust predicted that the number of credit cards in Thailand would be very likely to triple to 30 million within 10 years and that its invested credit card firm there is ambitious to take a market share of 6% in five years. GSB is a long-standing bank in Thailand with 600 branches and more than 17 million clients now. Today Thailand's top three credit-card issuers are Krung Thai Credit Card Co., SIAM, and Citibank, each floating about one million credit cards in the country. ((JL)) (GE) | | | | | Arima Optoelectronics Lands Orders for LED Street Lamps from China
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--The Taiwan-based Arima Optoelectronics Corp., a supplier of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), recently landed orders from China for LED street lamps, after winning orders from the U.S. for lighting systems used in vehicles for public mass transport, and for LED lighting in subway stations from Taiwan's Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), according to company sources. Johnson Ku, vice president of Arima Optoelectronics, said at a recent conference on business opportunity and strategy analysis in the LED application market that an era of LED lightings has approached, and the company will keep exploring the market in the future. He said that LED makers have already broken through a bottleneck in LED development in terms of production costs and power efficiency, making LEDs brighter and cheaper than they did in the past. Thus, in addition to applying LED heavily to different fields, makers in the sector will have to cope with LED's specification requirements in the future, when the product will be highly focused on its color, short response time and environmental friendliness. At present, the worlds major lighting makers have started to set up platforms for LED specs. Although China's government has yet to hammer out a uniform spec of LED street lamps used there, Arima Optoelectronics already introduces its products into suburban areas nearby Beijing and Zhejiang in China. Also, Ku revealed that Arima will probably make good progress in promoting its LED street lamps in October by penetrating the Beijing market. As in an order from the TRTC, Ku said that Arima Optoelectronics wanted to scramble for the order mainly to realize its effort on developing LEDs by working with the TRTC in a project of light engineering. In other words, the company hopes to apply such experience to vie for more public work projects in light engineering. Accordingly, the TRTC has selected Daan Station as a demonstration to conduct a light engineering with Arima Optoelectronics's LEDs. Meanwhile, Arima Optoelectronics also takes charge of landscape lighting set in five different points outside the station. Although contributing modestly to its income, the project, however, will help it to explore more business opportunities in other areas or overseas markets for outdoor lightings in the future. ((SC)) (L) | | | | | Macauto, Hota Win Big Orders for Auto Parts From Europe, U.S.
Taipei, Sept. 29, 2007 (CENS)--Macauto Industrial Co. and Hota Industrial Mfg. Co., Ltd., both Taiwan-based suppliers of auto parts on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis, recently won big orders from their large-sized clients in Europe and the U.S., respectively, according to company sources. Macauto, the largest car curtain supplier in China and the second-largest in the world, is to deliver one million units of car curtains for one of Renault's car series, while Hota, one of Taiwan's OEM suppliers directly joining large-sized international car makers' supply chains of transmission system parts, has been enjoying overwhelming orders shifted from the U.S.'s TTI Metals, making the firm set revenue projection at US$10 million for 2008 The two companies are both optimistic about long-term development of Taiwan's auto parts industry, saying that Taiwanese makers in the industry are technology competitive and experienced in global trade, and will excel globally in the next few years. Macauto has been actively exploring the European and U.S. markets for auto parts, and the effort already pays off recently, with Renault placing a big order for one million units of manual car curtains for its new car series for global sales. The company is to start delivery next year and projects the order to contribute more than US$30 million to its sales revenue. Macauto scored pretax profits of NT$3.91 per share for the past eight months of this year. With over 20% revenue generated from sales of its mowers, the company may post sales revenue for the second half merely equaling to that for the first half, even though having shipped many car curtains to Chinese clients starting the second half. However, institutional investors thought that the company can still maintain its gross profit rate in the second half and challenge net profits of NT$5.5 per share for entire the year. Macauto's manufacturing plant in China generated annual revenue of about NT$70 million last year, and the figure was originally projected to grow by 70% to NT$120 million for this year. Nevertheless, thanks to hot-selling Honda Accord series cars, the company has adjusted the projection up to NT$200 million, for a whopping growth of nearly 200% from last year. On another front, in light of costs and development of markets, the U.S.-based large-sized supplier of auto parts TTI Metals has stepped up shifting its orders to contracted suppliers in Asia recently, making Taiwanese auto parts makers absorb 30% of the company's orders. This has made Taiwan become the U.S. firm's second-largest outsourcing base in the area, second only to mainland China with 40%. Hota noted that its orders from TTI Metals are worth US$8 million this year, and the figure will exceed US$10 million next year, when American auto parts suppliers are to increase orders. In addition to General Motors, Hota estimated its shipment to all clients next year will reach US$3 billion for next year, most likely to sharply boost both its sales revenue and profits for the year. ((SC)) (A) | | |
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