| Prime News | | ![]() | ![]() | Yulon Will Buy Into China's Zhung Yu
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--In a bid to develop its own-brand cars in the vast Chinese market, Yulon Motor has reportedly decided to buy into Zhong Yu Auto of China, a maker of remodeled Benz commercial vehicles, after having suffered a string of setbacks for the attempt previously.
Yulon reportedly will invest 50 million yuan (NT$217 million) for 49% stake in the Zhong Yu, whose paid-in capital now stands at 100 million, in addition to the fund needed for renovating the latter's production line. The fresh capital is expected to be a shot in the arm for the Chinese automaker in financial strait.
Yulon plans to roll out via Zhong Yu several own-brand sedans in the Chinese market, featuring chassis of Renault's Espace model and 2,000cc and 2,200cc Turbo engines of Advanced Power Investment, a Yulon subsidiary.
Application for the investment plan of Yulon is being reviewed by the State Council, so is that for Zhong Yu's plan to step into the realm of sedan production. Insiders are optimistic about the outcome, citing Yulon's good relations with the Chinese authorities and Chinese government's auto-industry policy encouraging development of own-brand cars.
Yulon officials refused to comment on the case, apparently in fear of the influence on the case, but ranking officials of Zhong Yu has confirmed the case, according to the 21st Century Economic Report, under the Nan Fang Daily Group.
The project represents a fresh effort on the part of Yulon Group to tap the huge Chinese market with own-brand cars, after failing to do so via investments in Feng Shen Auto and South East Motor, whose managements have fallen into the hands of Nissan and Mitsubishi, respectively, downgrading Yulon to the third largest shareholder in the two Chinese automakers, from the largest originally.
((PL)) (A) | |
| | ![]() | | | MediaTek Posts Record Profit for Q3
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--MediaTek Inc., Taiwan's leading IC design house, posted yesterday (Oct. 30) after-tax net profit of NT$27.278 billion for the first three quarters this year, or NT$26.48 per share, with gross margin standing at 57.5%, beating market expectation.
The company's revenue for the first three quarters hit NT$56.983 billion, with pre-tax profit reaching NT$28.104 billion and after-tax profit NT$27.278 billion, both up 70% year-on-year, meaning the company earned 2.6 times of its paid-in capital during the period.
After-tax profit for the third quarter broke the NT$10 billion mark for the first time, reaching NT$11.8 billion. The hefty profit is attributed mainly to vigorous demand for mobile-phone ICs. Plus revenue of overseas subsidiaries, the company's consolidated revenue for the first three quarters amounted to NT$59.561 billion.
Analysts expect the company's business to remain flat or score slight improvement sequentially in the fourth quarter, with the whole-year profit hitting NT$35 billion, a record high, equivalent to earning NT$100 million every day.
More details on the company's business performance in the first three quarters will be revealed at the company's conference call for institutional investors tomorrow (Nov. 1), when market players will watch closely the company's estimate of the Chinese market demand for mobile-phone ICs in the fourth quarter, as well as effect of its acquisition of ADI's mobile-phone department on its operation.
((PL)) (E) | |
| | ![]() | | | Four FPG Subsidiaries Rack Up NT$186.77 B. in First 3 Quarters
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--Formosa Plastics Group's four major subsidiaries posted NT$186.77 billion (US$5.76 billion at US$1:NT$32.4) and NT$170 billion (US$5.24 billion) in pretax and after-tax earnings, respectively in the first three quarters of this year, standing firmly as the most profitable listed business group.
FPG's four major subsidiaries include Formosa Plastics Corp. (FPC), Nan Ya Plastics Corp., Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. (FCFC), and Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC). The earnings registered by the FPG's four subsidiaries in the first three quarters were higher than expectations set by institutional investors.
The four subsidiaries registered NT$169 billion (US$5.21 billion) in after-tax earnings in the first three quarters of this year, up a whopping 46.7% year-on-year from NT$115.2 billion (US$3.55 billion). These companies will continue to post handsome profits in the fourth quarter of this year due to contributions from the group's expanded naphtha cracking complex in Yunlin County of central Taiwan.
FPCC posted the highest after-tax earnings at NT$51.37 billion (US$1.58 billion) in the first three quarters. In terms of earnings per share, FCFC came in first with NT$6.73 (US$0.2), followed by FPC at NT$6.43 (US$0.19). Nan Ya and FPCC posted NT$5.73 (US$0.17) and NT$5.55 (US$0.17), respectively in after-tax EPS in the first three quarters.
Based on the earnings posted in the first three quarters, each of the FPG's four major subsidiaries will have great opportunities to see yearly EPS reach between NT$8 (US$0.24) and NT$9 (US$0.27) this year, prompting foreign institutional investors to raise their investment grades.
With a 54.6% year-on-year earnings growth, FPC attributed its high earnings to the continual growing demand for petrochemical products triggered by the robust economic growth in emerging nations worldwide. In addition, FPC has also seen its products' average selling prices increase over the past few months.
Thanks to the increased supply of such materials as ethylene and propylene from its affiliated FPCC, FPC has recently raised equipment capacity utilization rate on its various plants, increasing its operating profits by NT$6.04 billion (US$180 million) year-on-year from NT$13.93 billion (US$429.93 million).
| |
| | ![]() | | | CSC Posts NT$3.36 in EPS in First 3 Quarters
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--China Steel Corporation (CSC), Taiwan's largest integrated producer of steel products, registered NT$46.677 billion (US$1.44 billion at US$1:NT$32.4) in pretax earnings, or NT$3.36 (US$0.1) in earnings per share, in the first three quarters of this year, up a whopping 44.5% year-on-year.
But impacted by the sharp hike in international marine freightage, CSC posted NT$14.83 billion (US$457.71 million) in pretax earnings in the first three quarters of this year, down 7.45% and 5.32% from the preceding quarter and the corresponding period of last year, respectively.
A CSC executive noted the hike in international marine shipping rates is a common thorny problem facing firms globally. Thanks to its investment in a marine transportation concern—China Steel Express Co., CSC is only modestly impacted by such price increases, hence able to maintain enviable operating profits.
CSC said it has to bear an increase in production costs of NT$200 (US$6.17) per metric ton because of the sharp hike in international freightage, resulting in its posting only NT$4.741 billion (US$146.32 million) and NT$14.827 billion (US$457.62 million) in revenues for September and the third quarter this year respectively, both lower than earlier expectations.
Although most domestic listed iron and steel firms saw slowdown in earnings in the third quarter of this year, Kao Hsing Chang Iron & Steel Corp. generated profits by disposing assets. The company posted NT$0.65 (US$0.02) in after-tax earnings in the first three quarters of this year.
((BS)) (G) | |
| | ![]() | | | TSMC Cuts 2008 Capital Expenditure to Retain Earnings
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will deeply cut its capital expenditure for next year from this year's US$2.6 billion in order to maintain its earnings and capacity utilization at high levels, according to the silicon foundry giant's chief executive, Rick Tsai.
Tsai made the statement at an institutional investor conference, which was organized to release the company's results for last quarter. Views on the cut are quite mixed. Some analysts think the cut will help restore industrial order whereas some are worried that the capital cut might leave TSMC struggling for capacity once boom cycle comes back in 2009.
Tsai's capital-spending cut talk came amid a succession of weak forecasts for heavyweight chipmakers' revenues for this quarter. These chipmakers include Hynix Semiconductor, Texas Instruments (TI) and Altera. Their share prices have recently dropped steeply on weak estimates.
He pointed out that although the company's consolidated revenue and earnings for this quarter will slightly increase from last quarter and chip-making revenue next year is estimated to rise 5 to 9% from this year worldwide, the company's expansions this year will be enough to meet next year's demands.
Tsai pointed out that global chip market will grow around 4% this year from last year, with foundry sector performing below average as a whole. However, he forecasted that foundry sector will do better than average in the chip-making industry next year.
He estimated global chip shipment next year will likely increase 10% from this year worldwide and revenue will likely surge 5 to 9% in the meantime mostly thanks to declining inventory backlogs.
TSMC made NT$1.15 per share in after-tax net income last quarter as a result of strong personal computer and communications markets. The company projects its consolidated revenue for this quarter at NT$92-94 billion (US$2.7-2.8 billion at US$1:NT$33), increasing 3.4 to 5.6% from last quarter.
TSMC's spokesperson and chief finance officer, Lora Ho, explained that her company will spend around 70% of 2007 capital on leading-edge process technologies, with such spending divided between 45% for the first half and 45% for the latter half of this year.
((KL)) (E) | |
| | ![]() | | | Gigabyte Pushes Navigation Cellphone With Built-in Garmin Software
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--Gigabyte Communications Inc. of Taiwan recently pushed the GSmart i350, the world's first cellphone model with built-in GPS navigation software developed by Garmin Ltd., a leading global GPS device maker.
Giga-Byte Communications is a cellphone manufacturer under local major motherboard maker Giga-Byte Technology Co., Ltd. Garmin is a leader in consumer and general aviation navigation and its products serve the automotive/mobile, outdoor/fitness, marine, and aviation markets. Garmin is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Garmin's navigation software has been for the first time developed jointly with a cellphone maker, which supports Microsoft's S60 and Symbian's UIQ platforms. Garmin previously also tied up with Sony Ericsson and LG to bundle its navigation software, but the cellphones had to have external GPS antenna and additional software pack.
According to Cheng Yao-jen, Gigabyte Communications president, his company targets the niche cellphone market and has been pushing new products with world-first features, such as the previoius GSmart t600, the world's first and only cellphone model supporting various digital TV formats. Cheng claimed that Gigabyte has won orders from some mobile operators in Europe and would begin shipments of the t600 to the new markets by the end of the year.
The GSmart i350 has built-in the latest GPS chip SiRF Star III, GPS tracking and photo sharing features. Running on the latest operating system, Windows Mobile 6 Professional, Cheng said, the navigation cellphone delivers exquisite images on a 2.6-inch VGA touch screen. The design centers on minimalism with round outlines and a classy mysterious black color, creating a confident look of pure freedom. The compact size, lightness and style make i350 ideal for the fashion-conscious who appreciates a handy navigation tool.
Gigabyte Communications would first distribute the i350 in Taiwan and is expected to explore overseas markets, especially the U.S.
Industry sources said that a increasing number of Taiwan companies are actively developing businesses in the booming global positioning system (GPS) device market, and many have achieved success.
Asustek Computer Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of computer motherboards and a rapidly developing notebook PC brand, has set good sales record with its GPS personal digital assistant (PDA) phone. Mio Technology, a subsidiary of MiTAC International Corp. (a major information technology, or IT conglomerate in Taiwan), has already been a global major supplier of personal navigation device (PND) products for several years.
HTC Corp. (HTC), one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market that designs, manufactures and markets innovative smartphone and PDA phone devices. All of HTC's PDA phone models support external GPA navigation functionalities.
| |
| | ![]() | | | Asustek to Launch Low-cost Smart Handheld Device Next Year
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--Asustek Computer Inc. of Taiwan, the world's largest manufacturer of compute motherboards, is schedule to venture into the smart handheld device market by pushing competitively-priced products soon, according to the company's chairman Jonney Shih.
Shih made the statement during a recent interview by local Chinese-language economic daily newspaper Economic Daily News (EDN). He also said that the market responses to the latest ASUS low-cost Eee PC have been stronger than originally expected and the sales volume of Eee PC models is expected to outstrip the total of current's ASUS own-brand notebook PCs.
Asustek is scheduled to formally spin off into two business groups on the first day of 2008. Asustek adheres to the "King of the Hill" strategy in that the firm always wants to lead in its segment, with its 2008 business model to evolve into focusing on mainly own-brand marketing and contract manufacturing, Shih said. To achieve the new goal, Asustek is expected to recruit global professionals, cultivating two "lions" to rule over individual kingdoms," Shih stressed.
Backed by long-term efforts in own-brand cultivation, according to the chairman, Asustek would further strive to better understand consumer needs worldwide so as to gradually expand its share in the global market.
Shih said that the Eee PC is in fact not a cheap product though its price is low. Asustek pushed the innovative low-cost, simplified notebook PC product before most stringent product tests and made no compromise in the new product's styling, functions, and quality. Using an analogy, he added, the Eee PC is like a car without all the bells and whistles, while a typical notebook PC is one with more features and options.
Essentially, the Eee PC is a highly portable notebook computer with a difference—it is more compact than most notebooks; eschewing hard drive for flash storage, it is lighter and rugged; relying on Linux (users can also opt for Windows XP) and industry-standard connectivity, while being also low-cost.
"Asustek aims to be a leading promoter of a new digital revolution and digital life," Shin explained, "and the Eee PC is the first representative product." Such new product concept is expected to extend into all aspects and open windows of opportunities, he added, so Asustek plans to continue to launch low-cost smart handheld devices so as to tap the telecom market in next year.
Asustek aims to sell about 4.2 million ASUS own-brand notebook PCs this year, and the volume is expected to grow by 50% to about 6.3 million in 2008. The sales volume of Eee PC, though pushed just in the fourth quarter, is expected to reach about seven million units next year.
In Taiwan, the first batch of Eee PCs began selling in both real 3C (computer, communication, and consumer electronics) retail chain-store Tsann Kuen Enterprise Co. and online B2C (business to customer) website Yahoo Shopping, with all having been sold within one hour.
Currently, Asustek employs global staff of more than 100,000 and owns a world-class R&D design team. The company's turnover for 2006 was US$17.4 billion.
((QL)) (E) | |
| | ![]() | | | Taiwan's Domestic Banks See NPL Ratio Hit New Low of 2.24% in August
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--The average non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of Taiwan's domestic banks stood at 2.24% at the end of August of this year, the lowest of its kind since the beginning of this year, according to the statistics released by the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
However, five banks still witnessed NPL ratios of above 10%, namely, Enterprise Bank of Haulien (EBH), Taitung Business Bank (TBB), the Chinese Bank, Bowa Bank, and ChinFon Commercial Bank. All of them have been taken over by the government except ChinFon, which is on the list to be strictly monitored.
At the end of August, EBH recorded the highest NPL ratio of 43.19% among domestic banks. In the same month, ChinFon witnessed its net worth tumble to NT$2.2 billion (US$66.67 million at US$1 = NT$33) from NT$3.841 billion (US$116.39 million) recorded a month earlier, although its NPL ratio dropped slightly to 20.71% from 20.87%. Worried that the bank's finances could worsen, the state-run Central Deposits Insurance Corp. has already intervened to help it improve financial situation.
Among domestic banks, E. Sun Bank registered the lowest NPL ratio of 1.03%, Taiwan Cooperative Bank and Bank of Taiwan followed with corresponding percentage of 1.27% and 1.33%, respectively.
FSC statistics also showed that in the same period the outstanding loans extended by domestic banks totaled NT$17.65 trillion (US$534.85 billion), up NT$8.1 billion (US$245.45 million) from a month earlier and NPLs decreased by NT$19.4 billion (US$587.88 million) to NT$394.8 billion (US$11.96 billion) with NPL ratio edging down by 0.11 of a percentage point to 2.24% from 2.35%.
S. L. Chang, vice chairperson of FSC, indicated that the domestic banks have tried hard to lower their NPL ratios since the beginning of this year and in August, among Taiwan's 51 domestic banks, 33 saw their NPL ratios shrink to below 5% and 26 boasted the corresponding percentage of under 2.5%.
((JL)) (GE) | |
| | ![]() | | | Fubon Bank Searches for M&A Opportunities in Hong Kong
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--To prepare for the prospective investments in China's banks, Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., an affiliate of Taiwan-based Fubon Financial Holding Co., is looking for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) opportunities in Hong Kong to expand its personal financing and wealth management businesses in the greater Chinese community, including Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, and China. The capital for the projected investments is reportedly to be within HK$22 million.
Victor Kung, president and spokesman of Fubon Financial, disclosed that in January of next year Fubon Bank in Hong Kong would be eligible to invest in domestic banks in China, so now is the time for the bank to expand operations in Hong Kong since the region is a bridge connecting Taiwan and China, not to mention the potential market niche in terms of the growing personal financing demands on both sides of Taiwan Strait.
The bank's purchase plan once helped boost its stock price to HK$5.84 per share in Hong Kong's stock market in mid-October, a new high since 1998. Insiders believed that Fubon Bank is eyeing the future market in China and ambitious to play a more active role in Hong Kong.
Thanks to offering more financial services to Taiwanese enterprises in both Hong Kong and China, Fubon Bank witnessed in the first half of this year a sizable annual growth of 42.4% in revenues from financial service charges and a sharp rise of 28.3% in interest income. In the same period, the bank's after-tax profits soared by 73% from the corresponding figure of last year.
Moreover, the bank saw a whopping annual rise of 88% in loans extended to Taiwanese enterprises in the first half of the year and the account number of wealth management for Taiwanese businessmen shot up by 49% and the amount of assets management ballooned by 54%.
| |
| | ![]() | | | HTC and T-Mobile Launch Shadow Smartphone in North America
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--The Taiwan-based High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC), a globally well-known supplier of handsets, and T-Mobile, one of top four telecom companies in North America, jointly launched HTC's Shadow series smartphones in the North American market, according to company sources.
Recently, T-Mobile announced that it is selling HTC's Shadow series slide smartphones over the Christmas holiday season in the U.S., with each going for less than US$150 under a service contract with T-Mobile in retail and online stores.
Most noteworthy is that with T-Mobile selling its Shadow series, HTC has snapped up orders from three of the U.S's top four telecom companies to tap a huge market worth US$150 million during the Christmas period. HTC reported net profits of NT$33 per share for the third quarter of this year as the most profitable company in Taiwan.
Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC, noted that the launch of the Shadow series smartphone shows the firm's initial move to penetrate the global market for consumer electronics. Shadow smartphones are built with two mega pixel camera and wireless fidelity (WiFi) communications.
Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile, said that the company added Shadow smartphones to its lineup, which are innovative products and enable its users to share photos and send emails easily. In the future, T-Mobile will use the model as a prototype to further develop new models with HTC.
In the meantime, Apple has launched its first mobile phone iPhone this year, which is already being sold by U.S.'s largest telecom company AT&T since the end of this June. Also, iPhone will be promoted by U.K.'s O2, Germany's T-Mobile and France's Orange in Europe's major markets starting this November.
Furthermore, with such world's leading mobile phone brands as Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG turning ambitious to launch touch-screen phones, need for such products is expected to explode worldwide in the fourth quarter of this year.
As the largest telecom company in the U.S., AT&T solely promotes iPhone, which is priced at US$399 per unit under AT&T's two-year service contract, and also sells HTC's Kaiser, or Tilt, series smartphones for US$299 per unit under its service contract. Coincidentally, Sprint, the third-largest one in the market, already sells HTC's Touch phones, which go for US$249, while the fourth-largest T-Mobile will launch HTC's Shadow series for US$149 each.
((SC)) (E)
| |
| | ![]() | | | Qisda Lands Orders From Sony 32" LCD TVs
Taipei, Oct. 31, 2007 (CENS)--Qisda Corporation, a Taiwan-based electronics suppliers, has already landed orders from Sony for 32-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) TVs, and is expected to boost its shipment of LCD TVs next year, when it and Wistron Corporation will share orders for the products from Sony, according to industry sources.
Over past several years, Sony has actively explored the Asian and North American markets for LCD TVs, and has two major contract suppliers, namely Wistron and TPV Technology Ltd., a reinvested company of Tatung Group. In light of the close partnership between Qisda and AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), a leading supplier of display panels in Taiwan, Sony will add Qisda to its supplier list next year, and will probably reduce orders to TPV.
Sony is world's top three brands of LCD TVs, with annual shipment of more than six million LCD TVs last year. The brand sets a shipment goal of 10 million LCD TVs for this year, and may finally realize such goal by already having shipped 9-plus million units. Besides, it is projecting shipment to reach 15 million units next year.
Sony's move to heavily tap the LCD TV market and increase orders to Qisda and Wistron is expected to benefit display suppliers, including AUO and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO). However, limited by restrictive clauses to keep secret news about orders and clients, Qsida has yet to confirm the fact.
Impacted by shortage of display panels for LCD TVs, especially ones for 32-inch models, that has totaled some 20% at least, contract makers of LCD TVs will have to cope with the problem as priority next year; otherwise, this may affect their shipment and orders.
In the meantime, it is reported that Hon Hai Group is very likely to win orders from Sony for 26- and 20-inchLCD TVs next year, while Compal Electronics Inc., a world-level supplier of notebook PCs, already lands orders from Toshiba for 800,000 units of LCD TVs recently.
In fact, Qisda originally delivers less than 500,000 LCD TVs a year; but, thanks to LG's orders for 500,000 units and other newly added orders, it is expected to see rising annual shipment of the products next year.
((SC)) (E)
| |
| | ![]() | | | "eneloop universe products" Win 2007 G-Mark Grand Prize
By QUINCY LIANG
After several months of evaluation and discussion, the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO) recently announced its choice of "eneloop universe products" from the Sanyo Electric Co. as winner of the Grand Prize in the Good Design Award (G-Mark) 2007.
The Good Design Award Grand Prize is the top prize among the awards granted to 2,945 items for the year. According to JIDPO, the "eneloop universe products--Sanyo Electric Co." garnered the highest number of votes, at 688, for this year's top prize. The vote was conducted by award winners (1,043 of them), the Jury Committee (with 71 members), and the Adjudication Board (13 members). They chose the winner from among this year's "Best 15" entries.
The winner of the Grand Prize, JIDPO explains, is an ideal source of clean energy for charging "eneloop" rechargeable batteries, relying entirely on solar power instead of a conventional power supply. After the unit's internal lithium-ion battery is charged from regular exposure to sunlight, it can be used for a quick recharge of "eneloop" batteries or as a source of power for electronic devices via a universal serial bus (USB)
connection. Simply by setting the charger down the right choice of sides, users can catch sunlight from two angles as the sun changes position, throughout the year or is in various locations. Simple in design, the unit is shaped like a pyramid.
This new type of re-charger, Sanyo designers pointed out, encourages more people to try "eneloop" rechargeable batteries. It is an easy way to be more environmentally conscious and make a difference. "We were committed to a form that is natural and not too imposing. It has a familiar, unassertive shape," they added.
Sanyo's solar unit, along with a USB-powered recharger, a battery-powered reusable hand warmer, and a cordless warmer, is part of an innovative product line that demonstrates eco-friendly corporate ideals at a high level.
JIDPO reports that a total of 1,043 items, including the "Best-15," were accredited by the 51st Good Design Award (G-Mark) this year. A total of 2,945 items were submitted in the Product Design, Architecture and Environment Design, Communication Design, and New Territory Design categories.
Among the 1,043 items awarded the G-Mark this year, the voters also awarded the "Best-15 Good Design Awards", "Universal Design Prize", "Interaction Design Prize", and "Ecology Design Prize."
| |
|
沒有留言:
張貼留言