5G OPPORTUNITIES: The firm said it would benefit from a growing market for phones equipped with multiple camera lenses with higher resolutions and larger apertures

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 11, 2019
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光), which supplies camera lenses for Apple Inc’s iPhones, yesterday gave an upbeat outlook for demand next year, citing emerging 5G applications.

“We are eyeing many opportunities [for growth] next year when 5G smartphones come into play,” Genius president Lee Kuo (郭英理) told investors in an online conference call, forecasting increased demand as consumers look to replace their smartphones.

While camera lenses on 5G smartphones vary little in terms of design and production compared with those on their 4G counterparts, Kuo said 5G smartphones would bring higher standards and more applications.

The company would benefit from a growing market for smartphones equipped with multiple camera lenses with higher resolutions and larger apertures, Kuo said, adding that Genius would consider expanding its production capacity next year.    [FULL  STORY]

TAIWANESE PLAYERS: NH Investment said that the multilayer ceramic capacitor industry has been recovering rapidly, helped by iPhone and 5G smartphone sales

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 09, 2019
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

Taiwanese multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) manufacturers are recovering faster than anticipated, backed by the release of 5G-enabled smartphones in China and robust sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone 11 series, analysts said last week.

Along with Taiwanese firms, such as Yageo Corp (國巨) and Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技), global players like Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd in Japan and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd in South Korea are also expected to benefit from a full-fledged industry recovery from the first half of next year, analysts said.

“The MLCC industry has been recovering rapidly as of late, helped by brisk sales of new iPhone models and rising 5G smartphone sales in China,” Seoul-based NH Investment & Securities Co analyst Kyuha Lee said in a note on Thursday. “We note that Taiwanese MLCC players, which are particularly sensitive to shifts in industry conditions due to their high supply portions, around 50 percent on average, to distributors, have confirmed that inventory levels are declining and lead times are expanding.”

“In terms of prices, Taiwanese MLCC manufacturers should see average selling price [ASP] declines of about 5 percent in Q4 of 2019 — an indication that future ASP declines should narrow,” Lee said.    [FULL  STORY]

CONSOLIDATION: One analyst said that with foreign institutional investors stepping away for the holidays as the index nears technical resistance, a breakthrough is unlikely

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 08, 2019
By: Staff writer, with CNA and AFP

Local shares on Friday ended slightly higher as investors locked in earlier gains, which eroded an upturn on the main board by the end of the trading session ahead of the nearest technical resistance level, with the index breaching 11,600 points, dealers said.

Market sentiment continued to be dictated by uncertainty over global trade as the US and China have yet to sign a “phase one” agreement to resolve their trade disputes, while turnover remained thin, as many foreign institutional investors were away from the trading floor for year-end holidays, they said.

The TAIEX on Friday ended up 14.99 points, or 0.13 percent, at 11,609.64, rising 1 percent from a close of 11,489.57 on Nov. 29, after moving between 11,577.83 and 11,657.65, with turnover totaling NT$109.61 billion (US$3.59 billion).

The market opened up 0.39 percent and soon rose to the day’s high on follow-through buying from a session earlier, when the TAIEX closed up 0.73 percent, but with the weighted index breaching 11,600 points and moving closer to the technical hurdles at about 11,668 points, an intraday high recorded on Nov. 6, selling emerged to force the main board to give up its earlier gains, the dealers said.    [FULL  STORY]

COMPLAINTS: The smaller-than-expected cuts came after environmentalists said the government should keep strong incentives for the installation of rooftop solar panels

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 07, 2019
By: Natasha Li  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it planned to cut feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates for solar energy to between 0.34 and 2.44 percent annually to benefit installations.

In a preliminary review, the ministry proposed a rate of NT$3.9408 to NT$5.7788 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for next year.

The rate for energy generated by rooftop systems with a capacity of under 20kW would be trimmed from NT$5.7983 per kWh this year to NT$5.7788 per kWh next year, the ministry said in a statement.

The smaller-than-expected cuts came after demands from environmentalists last month that the government maintain strong incentives for people and small businesses to install rooftop solar panels.    [FULL  STORY]