Asia chip windfall preludes tech’s next challenge 29 Jul 2020 Shares of TSMC and Samsung have leapt on hopes Intel may outsource production. It could enlarge the contract-chipmaking market they dominate by 20%. Still, the $209 bln Intel's woes highlight the high costs of making advanced semiconductors. Finding buyers may get harder.
Virtual vouchers offer digital-payments stimulus 19 Jun 2020 Taiwan is issuing $1.7 bln of coupons to goose its economy. These types of handouts have worked to varied effect elsewhere, but often just replace one kind of spending with another. Making them electronic instead of paper should at least help accelerate efforts to go cashless.
War for Hong Kong talent is Taiwan’s to lose 3 Jun 2020 The island’s proximity and cultural similarity should appeal to Hong Kongers fleeing Beijing’s crackdown. For its part, the $600 bln economy needs to plug a severe labour shortage and boost investment. But warm political gestures could be offset by bad immigration policies.
TSMC’s U.S. reshoring initiative looks wafer-thin 15 May 2020 The Taiwanese chipmaker unveiled plans for a $12 bln factory in Arizona. It will produce a tiny fraction of what Asian plants do with a small workforce and investment spread over nine years. It only goes to show just how hard it will be to move high-tech manufacturing to America.
IPhones will display China’s back-to-work power 10 Feb 2020 The $38 bln Apple supplier Foxconn is re-opening a key Chinese plant as officials ease curbs. But the handset-maker and others face labour shortages as workers struggle to return home and travel with ongoing contagion fears. The complexities of restarting supply chains run deep.
Consumer wallets are top risk to chip titan TSMC 14 Jan 2020 A heady valuation multiple for Taiwan's $295 bln supplier to Apple, Huawei and others reflects its relentless march on rivals. Rising retail prices for ever-fancier smartphones, though, may curb demand. That’s possibly the biggest risk for the tech supply chain’s sturdiest player.
Taiwan’s revival is Tsai’s to squander 13 Jan 2020 The independence-leaning president has coasted into a second term on anti-Beijing sentiment and a strong $580 bln economy. Tsai Ing-wen can take credit for neither. After wasting an earlier opportunity, she now has another to fix poor infrastructure that threatens growth.
Taiwan will widen U.S.-China schism in 2020 18 Dec 2019 The island's significance in supply chains stands to grow as manufacturing shifts accelerate. Anti-Beijing sentiment is also gaining traction in the United States. Both dynamics herald deeper ties between Taipei and Washington, bolstering the case for a controversial trade deal.
The Exchange: The Asianisation of the world 17 Sep 2019 A splintering West and increasingly interconnected East is creating a newly powerful mega-region, according to Parag Khanna, author of “The Future is Asian.” He swung by the Breakingviews office in Hong Kong to break down the economic and geopolitical rationales behind his idea.
Repatriated cash revs up Taiwan’s economic engine 14 Aug 2019 President Tsai Ing-wen wants companies that left for mainland China and beyond to return, bringing with them some of the $350 bln already invested overseas. Fallout from a U.S.-China trade war means that is achievable; labour, land and other reforms can make the impact last.
iPhones keep ringing for Taiwan’s TSMC 18 Jul 2019 Quarterly earnings at the $213 bln contract chipmaker fell to $2 bln, capping a dismal first half. New models from Apple should mean a better end to 2019, though. TSMC's growing heft in the market for cutting-edge semiconductors suggests smartphones can power a stable recovery.
Taiwan spat moves Corporate America to frontline 16 Jul 2019 A $2.2 bln arms deal has led to hints of Beijing retaliating against Honeywell and others. Companies have long been caught in geopolitical crossfire, but U.S. assaults on Chinese tech firms suggest both sides could deploy such weapons more often. Boards should prepare for battle.
Gloating over Hong Kong distracts Taipei 19 Jun 2019 President Tsai Ing-wen made an unlikely political comeback largely thanks to unrest in the financial centre that rallied anti-Beijing sentiment. But the island’s citizens are unlikely to glean any economic benefit from Hong Kong’s pain. Tsai’s reform to-do list remains too long.
Foxconn leaves room for governance improvement 11 Jun 2019 Taiwan's $32 bln iPhone assembler has missed an opportunity with its first investor day. A management rejig is encouraging, but stops short of a succession plan. Worse, it fails to clarify departing boss Terry Gou’s future role. Shareholders will be left only a little wiser.
TSMC’s new chips will leave Samsung in the dust 18 Apr 2019 Quarterly earnings at Taiwan’s $220 bln semiconductor maker fell 32 pct to $2 bln. However, cutting-edge technology means TSMC will benefit first as 5G handsets come into use and its South Korean rival will struggle to catch up. That justifies the rich valuation gap.
Founder’s exit gives Foxconn opportunity to reboot 15 Apr 2019 Terry Gou, chairman of the $39 bln iPhone assembler, says he plans to step down from day-to-day operations soon. The details are vague, and there is no obvious succession plan either. A well-managed handover, though, could bring new blood, and a long-delayed governance revamp.
Foxconn stumbles in first steps away from Apple 1 Apr 2019 Weak iPhone sales dented quarterly earnings at Taiwan's $32 bln contract electronics-maker. To move up the manufacturing chain, boss Terry Gou is reviving storied brands, including Nokia. But a disastrous year at the Finnish handset unit suggests Foxconn has its work cut out.
TSMC’s iPhone hangup can end well 17 Jan 2019 Taiwan's $183 bln chipmaker expects revenue to fall sharply this quarter. Weak demand for mobile handsets is one problem. But the pain may be short-lived. TSMC’s cutting-edge semiconductors will help to win customers in AI and 5G. That should ease its dependence on Apple.
Taiwan’s poll upset can ease China tensions 26 Nov 2018 Voters battered President Tsai Ing-wen and her independence-leaning party in local elections, despite strong economic growth. The opposition is already reaching out to Beijing. That may augur a welcome period of calmer cross-strait relations, just as trade war storms strike.
Apple lacks an app for Foxconn and its ilk 14 Nov 2018 The $33 bln Taiwanese iPhone assembler missed quarterly earnings expectations. It will add to growing fears of weak demand for Apple’s latest model, which has sparked a selloff on supplier stocks. Tim Cook’s gradual shift to a focus on services represents another big threat.