Recent news from the Chinese-language newspapers.
CMO increases stake in China LCM maker
CMO aims to increase its share in the China-based LCM maker Westinghouse Digital Electronics (Ningbo) to over 50% by year-end and the company expects to see its production costs further lowered due to accelerated investments in China. [DigiTimes]
Picvue employees protest against layoff actions
Nearly 600 employees of the STN LCD makers took to the street and stopped work to protest against the company's indirect layoff strategies. Company HR president denied accusations that the company has threatened its workers and applied unreasonable job reappointment conditions. [EDN, Nov 4]
DisplaySearch: Net margin at China TV makers low
Although China TV makers such as Changhong Electric, Konka, TCL, Hisense and Haier saw gross margins ranging from 11-21% in 2004, their net margins were only 1-2%, with Changhong's at a minus 3.2%. However, Taiwan panel makers can still make profits by supplying panels to the makers, as the market will exceed 3m units next year, up from 1.2m this year, according to David Hsieh, president of DisplaySearch Taiwan. [Commercial Times, Nov 4]
ChipMOS and IST to enjoy continued revenue increases amid strong LCD driver IC demand
ChipMOS reported order visibility of 2-3 months and the company will expand its capacity by 10% to further fulfill its orders. IST, on the other hand, reported a B/B ratio of 1.3 and its monthly revenues have been increasing for the past six months. [DigiTimes]
PTI Oct revenues exceed NT$1 billion
PTI reported Oct revenues of NT$1.01b, which represents an on-month growth of 3.06% and an on-year growth of 41.26%. Accumulated revenues through Oct reached NT$9.09b, up 45.8% on year. Its JV with Elpida, wafer sorting company Tera Probe, is also expected to start contributing to the company’s revenues from 2006. [DigiTimes]
Silicon Touch expects 4Q revenues to drop
The LCD driver IC maker expects 4Q revenues to slide slightly on quarter but should still remain above 2Q levels. [DigiTimes]
Taiwan MOEA: Taiwan will be 12-inch leader
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs indicated that the aggressive expansion among local players will help Taiwan become the top 12-inch fab center in the region by 2008. MOEA stressed that local foundries such as TSMC and UMC have also started migrating to 65nm production. [EDN, Nov 4]
ProMOS and TSMC adjust personnel
TSMC R&D VP Ping Yang will resign his position at TSMC effective from Nov 3. ProMOS VP of manufacturing group, Len Mei, may be promoted to company president but the company has not yet confirmed the news. [DigiTimes]
IC distributor Weikeng positive about 4Q
Buoyed by the strong CPU and HDD shipments, Weikeng reported its Oct revenues were up 10% on month and 63% on year, at NT$1.5b. The company attributed the strong sales of Hitachi HDD and AMD CPUs as the main sales drivers. [DigiTimes]
Lenovo to release large notebook orders to Taiwan contract makers
Sources at Quanta Computer and Compal Electronics indicated that the two notebook makers are striving for large notebook orders from Lenovo. [Economic Daily News, November 4]
Article edited by Michael McManus
