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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Yageo says it will protect technology if Shibaura purchase succeeds
By Wen-Yee Lee and Makiko Yamazaki TAIPEI/TOKYO: Taiwan's Yageo said it will implement strict controls to prevent technology from leaking if it succeeds in acquiring Japan's Shibaura Electronics , responding to concerns in Japan over what the deal could mean for national security. Chairman Pierre Chen told reporters in Taipei on Saturday that the company will meet with Shibaura in mid-June in Tokyo to discuss potential cooperation. Yageo, the world's largest maker of chip resistors, launched an unsolicited tender offer for Shibaura in February, seeking full control of the Japanese firm, which specialises in thermistor technology . Yageo offered to buy Shibaura at 4,300 yen per share, valuing the company at more than 65 billion yen ($450 million). Spurning Yageo's overture, Shibaura tapped Japanese components supplier Minebea Mitsumi as a white knight. Minebea and Yageo entered a bidding war, with the latter now offering 6,200 yen. The stock closed at 6,100 yen on Friday. "Our strategy is to inject resources and strengthen R&D for advanced technologies. We're also preparing to make larger investments to expand their facilities in Japan," Chen said. Asked about Japan's national security concerns, he said: "We will implement strict controls to ensure technology does not leak." Unsolicited takeovers were once rare in Japan, where companies often mounted elaborate defences. The Japanese industry ministry's M&A guidelines in 2023 cracked down on what it considered excessive defence tactics, de-stigmatising unsolicited buyouts and leading some of such deals to succeed. Chen said that negotiations with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had been going smoothly. He said that if Yageo acquires Shibaura, the deal would address a gap in its portfolio of thermistors, making Yageo's offerings more complete for global customers and helping Shibaura expand its access to markets outside of Japan. Yageo said it aims to ease the burden of managing smaller component suppliers for its major clients, including Apple and Nvidia, by offering more comprehensive product portfolios and solutions. Yageo is also the world's number three manufacturers of multilayer ceramic capacitors and provides key components used in Apple's iPhones, Nvidia's AI servers, and Tesla's electric vehicles.
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Yageo says it will protect technology if Shibaura purchase succeeds
Yageo's founder and Chairman Pierre Chen speaks at the company's headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan June 7, 2025. REUTERS/Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI/TOKYO (Reuters) -Taiwan's Yageo said it will implement strict controls to prevent technology from leaking if it succeeds in acquiring Japan's Shibaura Electronics, responding to concerns in Japan over what the deal could mean for national security. Chairman Pierre Chen told reporters in Taipei on Saturday that the company will meet with Shibaura in mid-June in Tokyo to discuss potential cooperation. Yageo, the world's largest maker of chip resistors, launched an unsolicited tender offer for Shibaura in February, seeking full control of the Japanese firm, which specialises in thermistor technology. Yageo offered to buy Shibaura at 4,300 yen per share, valuing the company at more than 65 billion yen ($450 million). Spurning Yageo's overture, Shibaura tapped Japanese components supplier Minebea Mitsumi as a white knight. Minebea and Yageo entered a bidding war, with the latter now offering 6,200 yen. The stock closed at 6,100 yen on Friday. "Our strategy is to inject resources and strengthen R&D for advanced technologies. We're also preparing to make larger investments to expand their facilities in Japan," Chen said. Asked about Japan's national security concerns, he said: "We will implement strict controls to ensure technology does not leak." Unsolicited takeovers were once rare in Japan, where companies often mounted elaborate defences. The Japanese industry ministry's M&A guidelines in 2023 cracked down on what it considered excessive defence tactics, de-stigmatising unsolicited buyouts and leading some of such deals to succeed. Chen said that negotiations with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry had been going smoothly. He said that if Yageo acquires Shibaura, the deal would address a gap in its portfolio of thermistors, making Yageo's offerings more complete for global customers and helping Shibaura expand its access to markets outside of Japan. Yageo said it aims to ease the burden of managing smaller component suppliers for its major clients, including Apple and Nvidia, by offering more comprehensive product portfolios and solutions. Yageo is also the world's number three manufacturers of multilayer ceramic capacitors and provides key components used in Apple's iPhones, Nvidia's AI servers, and Tesla's electric vehicles. ($1 = 144.8500 yen) (Reporting by Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei and Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Editing by William Mallard)
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
TSMC says tariffs have some impact but AI demand robust
By Wen-Yee Lee HSINCHU: Taiwan's TSMC said on Tuesday that U.S. tariffs are having some impact on the company but demand for artificial intelligence (AI) remains strong and continues to outpace supply. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies have created much uncertainty for the global chip industry and TSMC, the top producer of the world's most advanced semiconductors whose customers include Apple and Nvidia. Chief Executive C.C. Wei, speaking at the company's annual shareholders meeting in the northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, said they have not seen any changes in customer behaviour due to tariff uncertainty and the situation may become clearer in coming months. "Tariffs do have some impact on TSMC, but not directly. That's because tariffs are imposed on importers, not exporters. TSMC is an exporter. However, tariffs can lead to slightly higher prices, and when prices go up, demand may go down," he said. "If demand drops, TSMC's business could be affected. But I can assure you that AI demand has always been very strong and it's consistently outpacing supply." In April, the company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, gave a bullish outlook for the year on robust demand for AI applications. In a sign of the strength of demand, Wei said TSMC's job is to provide its customers "with enough chips, and we're working hard on that. 'Working hard' means it's still not enough." Asked about media reports that the company has been looking at building chip factories in the United Arab Emirates, Wei said TSMC has no plans for any such plants in the Middle East. Wei was also asked about TSMC's suspension of shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo after its chip matched the one found on the Huawei AI processor, a Chinese company that has been the focus of sweeping U.S. government curbs. He said the company works closely with the Taiwan and U.S. governments to comply with legal and regulatory requirements. TSMC also faces broader political risk as China steps up military pressure on democratically and separately governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as "sacred" Chinese territory. "If something happens that we don't want to happen, it's a matter for governments, not for TSMC alone," Wei said, responding to a question about a possible crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TSMC says US tariffs have some impact but AI demand robust
By Wen-Yee Lee HSINCHU, Taiwan (Reuters) -Taiwan's TSMC said on Tuesday that U.S. tariffs were having some impact on the company and had been discussed with Washington, but demand for artificial intelligence (AI) remains strong and continues to outpace supply. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies have created much uncertainty for the global chip industry and TSMC, the top producer of the world's most advanced semiconductors whose customers include Apple and Nvidia. Chief Executive C.C. Wei, speaking at TSMC's annual shareholders meeting in the northern Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, said the company had not seen any changes in customer behaviour due to tariff uncertainty and the situation might become clearer in coming months. "Tariffs do have some impact on TSMC, but not directly. That's because tariffs are imposed on importers, not exporters. TSMC is an exporter. However, tariffs can lead to slightly higher prices, and when prices go up, demand may go down," he said. "If demand drops, TSMC's business could be affected. But I can assure you that AI demand has always been very strong and it's consistently outpacing supply." In April, the company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, gave a bullish outlook for the year on robust demand for AI applications. Wei said TSMC had been talking to the U.S. Department of Commerce about tariffs, expressing concern early on that the levies could increase production costs in the country where it is investing $165 billion to build new factories, as some equipment purchased from U.S. suppliers is made in Asia. "The U.S. commerce department said this is open for discussion, but how long that will take remains unclear," he added. "The real point is that we are in active communication, because only through understanding can they realise the consequences." Wei said he had told Trump the extra $100 billion investment, which he announced standing next to the president in March, would be difficult to complete within five years. "He said, 'Mr Wei, do your best, that's good enough.'" Asked about media reports that the company had been looking at building chip factories in the United Arab Emirates, Wei said TSMC had no plans for any such plants in the Middle East because it was "not very likely" they would have customers there. Domestically, TSMC's margins are being pressured by the recent appreciation of the Taiwan dollar, which Wei said had reduced its gross margin by more than 3 percentage points. TSMC also faces broader political risk as China steps up military pressure on democratically and separately governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as "sacred" Chinese territory. "If something happens that we don't want to happen, it's a matter for governments, not for TSMC alone," Wei said, responding to a question about a possible crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia says US export controls on AI chips to China were 'a failure'
By Max A. Cherney and Wen-Yee Lee TAIPEI (Reuters) -U.S. export controls on artificial intelligence chips to China were "a failure", Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said on Wednesday. "All in all, the export control was a failure," Huang said adding, "The fundamental assumptions that led to the AI diffusion rule in the beginning, in the first place, has been proven to be fundamentally flawed." The U.S. block on sales of advanced AI chips to China has forced companies there to buy semiconductors from Chinese designers such as Huawei, while also spurring China to invest aggressively to develop a supply chain that doesn't rely on manufacturers outside the country. Huang's comments came after China on Monday urged the United States to "immediately correct its wrongdoings" and stop "discriminatory" measures following the U.S. guidance warning companies not to use advanced computer chips from China, including Huawei's Ascend AI chips. The U.S. action seriously undermined consensus reached at the high-level bilateral trade talks in Geneva, a statement from China's commerce ministry said, vowing resolute measures if the U.S. continues to "substantially" harm China's interests. Huang, speaking at the annual Computex event in Taipei, said Nvidia's market share in China dropped to 50% from 95% at the start of former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration. (Reporting By Max Cherney and Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Tom Hogue and Sonali Paul) Sign in to access your portfolio
