BRING ON THE ORDERS

Apple Mac with Backlight - component orders

Apple plans to launch Mac's featuring LED backlight technology later this year, using 13.3 and 15-4 inch panels and LCMs from AUO and CMO with LED BLUs from Coretronic and Kenmos Technology applied.  Apple is reported to be planning to use Stanley Electic's LED V-cut light-guide panel technology (Stanley owns 11% of Kenmos).

Siliconware landed orders from Four Major Chip Makers

Siliconware will package and test advanced memory chips from Taiwan's four major memory-chip makers: Nanya Technology Corp, Powerchip Semiconductor Corp and ProMOS Technologies Inc.

Motech to produce solar cells for Open Energy

Motech Industries has signed a manufacturing contract with Open Energy to supply the latter with solar cells. This contract will give Motech the opportunity to expand in US market.

Winbond to supply Hongkong-based Toy Maker with SoC

Winbond is producing a newly developed system-on-chip (SoC), called the W55VA75, for a Hong Kong-based toy maker. The new SoC incorporates multimedia, video, and gaming functions with a 32-bit CPU, graphics chip, 3D image processing engine, and speech IC. It is priced at US$2-3 each compared to the current US$7-8 chip in the market. To date, there are about 3-4 other clients interested in Winbond SoC.

Unimicron and Kinsus will supply STMicro with IC Substrates

Unimicron and Kinsus will be manufacturing IC substrates for STMicroelectronics starting this June, 2007 as the latter seeks to sign long-term supply contracts with the IC makers. Aside from the two companies, Samsung Electro-Mechanics is also getting IC substrate validation from STMicroelectronics.

AUO landed orders from Sony and Samsung

AUO will produce Sony’s 26-, 32- and 40-inch TV panels this 2007. The shipment for the 40-inch TV panels will start this May. AUO is also shipping panels to Samsung starting end of 2006 for 40- and 46-inch panels. With the orders from Sony and Samsung, AUO is now projecting huge profits from its 40/42-inch panels.

Innolux receives large orders from Apple

Innolux will produce panels for Apple's iPhone handset and a large volume of panels for use in smart phone panels. It targets a 50% shipment growth for its small- to medium-size panel business this 2007 as it enters the supply chain of several 1st-tier handset brands like Nokia, Motorola and Chi Mei Communication Systems.

SiS will supply Intel’s SFF system chipset

SiS’s will manufacture the chipset (Sis662) for Intel’s latest small form factor (SFF) system, D201GLY. To prepare for the upcoming large shipment expected in June, Sis has increased the production capacity of its 0.15-micron wafer processing plant at UMC Fab8S. UMC’s 8-inch Fab8S production volume will increase from 60-70% in April to 90% in May with SiS662 chipsets forming the majority of the output. Other chipsets like SiS671 and SiS672 will be manufactured in UMC’s 12-inch fab to give way to the expected large orders from Intel.

COMPANY NEWS AND INDUSTRY TRENDS

Runcom established partnerships with Cameo and Zyxel

Cameo Communications has entered into a design-in process agreement with Runcom for the development of WiMAX devices using 802.16e chips. It will soon commercially produce CPE products like WiMAX IAD gateways and WiMAX network cards that will comply with 802.16e Wave 2 standard. Runcom has also established partnership with Zyxel Communications. WiMAX chips made from a 65nm process for development of function-rich WiMAX CPE products is expected to be offered by Runcom before the end of 2007.

TSMC partners with Spansion for a Joint Technology Development

TSMC has signed an agreement with Spansion for joint technology development in making memory chips at advanced 40-nanometer and more advanced technologies. TSMC will ensure the processes production-proven and is planning increase the production of Spansion's advanced Nor-type Flash memory technologies. TSMC has already supplying Spansion with flash memory chips made on 110 nanometer technology since last 2006 and is expected to produce such chips made on advanced 90-nanometer technology by mid-2007.

Solar Link to launch its 2nd LCD TV line in US

Solar Link Technologies will start producing its 2nd LCD TV line for the US market in June. Solar Link’s annual production capacity is expected to increase from 200k units to 400k-500k units with the launching of the new LCD TV line. The major partners in the LCD TV plant venture in US are Pou Chen Group, Kolin and Syntax-Brillian. This US facility is also used to support Olevia-brand TVs.

SanDisk and Qimonda formed partnership on MCP

SanDisk and Qimonda ventured into a partnership to develop multi-cell package (MCP) and to manufacture it using SanDisk's NAND flash (with controllers) and Qimonda's low-power mobile DRAM. Both companies, however, will sell MCPs through their existing sales channels to mobile handset manufacturers. In the 2H 2007, MCP samples will be made available for product review and volume production is expected at the end of 2007.

Intel’s Metro Notebook E-Paper Concept

Intel is developing a new concept in notebook with its Metro Notebook that features an e-paper where the outside display will made as a colored e-ink screen that shows important content like e-mail, calendar entries, eBooks and more, even when the computer is shutdown. The e-paper is developed by LCD maker PVI.

Holux Adopted Mediatek's GPS Solution

Holux has adopted Mediatek’s GPS solution, which SiRF is previously supplying Holux, due to its competitive pricing and has incorporated it in its own GPS brand devices. Holux plans to sell the devices to China by 2H 2007.

BenQ plans a 40% reduction in capital

BenQ is planning of reducing its capital by 40% or by NT$10.26 to NT$15.38B by September in order to write off losses it incurred in the mobile business and increase its net value per share to NT$11.3. Its outstanding shares are projected to fall to 1.5B shares from 2.56B shares at present as the result of the reduction. BenQ has not been doing good since it acquired Siemens’ cellphone unit and plans to stop funding the mobile-phone subsidiary which is now being liquidated.

BenQ to spin off its brand business to concentrate on ODM operations

By September, BenQ has decided to spin off its brand business in a bid in order to concentrate on its ODM operations and it will be renamed Jia Da Corp. However, the spiun-off brand will still retain the BenQ name but 100%-owned by Jia Da. BenQ is also planning to attract new investors with NT$3.6B (US$108M) in target capital. Present management of BenQ will still run Jia Da and the spin off.

LGE to close a plant to cut cost

LGE is closing one of its four PDP plants in Gumi, Seoul in order to reduce production costs (totaling US$22-32M yearly) and revive its business. The shutdown is scheduled in the 1H 2007. The plant has an annual production capacity of 840k 42-inch PDP or 70k/month. With the closing of a plant, LGE’s total 42-inch PDP module production capacity will decrease to 360k units a month or 4.32M a year. LGE has suffered a loss amounting to 123B won (US$132.1M) this 1Q 2007 as compared to its net profit of 150.8B won last year due to oversupply of flat panels and falling prices of components.

Sony may Outsource its LCD TV Production

There are possibilities that Sony might outsource the production of its Bravia LCD TVs (S-series) to Taiwan-based OEMs/ODMs in the future as there is no more inventory for the segment. At this time, all Bravia TVs sold in Taiwan are assembled in Japan.

Motorola will buy Modulus Video

Motorola is planning to sign another deal with Modulus Video for an undisclosed sum and is estimated to close 2Q or 3Q 2007. Modulus develops advanced video coding compression systems that are used to deliver video over Internet Protocol TV as well as cable, broadcast and satellite television.

Sharp to Build Big LCD Plant

Sharp Corp is planning to build one of the biggest factories in the world for LCD panels in western region of Osaka. Construction is expected to begin 2008 and is projected to be fully operational by 2009. The factory, which is estimated to cost ¥500B (US$4.1B), is capable of producing more than 22M 32-inch panels yearly, making it among the biggest LCD factories in the world.

TI’s New Investments in the Philippines will amount to US$1B

TI has confirmed its US$1B expansion plans for an assembly and test operation plants in Manila, Philippines with the aim to build the most environmentally efficient site in the world. This site is expected to be the first ground-up facility to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered in the Philippines with a total of 77k sqm size and to employ 3k workers. Construction is estimated to begin in the 2H 2007 and initial production by 2H 2008. The facility is designed to incorporate many of the environmental and energy design features first used in the U.S including the reduction of water, energy and waste and indoor environmental quality.

US$250M Kyocera’s Expansion Investments

Kyocera is expected to invest US$250M (¥30B) to boost its production capacity of 240-megawatts to 500-megawatts by March, 2011 in order to address the increasing demand for solar modules. The company has signed supply contracts with silicon producers to guarantee the increase in manufacturing capacity as this contract will allow Kyocera to expand capacity in quadripartite global manufacturing network for solar modules, which includes plants in Yohkaichi and Ise, Japan; Tijuana, Mexico; Kadan, Czech Republic; and Tianjin, China. Kyocera is aiming to be the leader in solar module manufacturing, both in quantity and quality.

Tatung to Invest US$20M in Proview Electronics

Tatung Group will invest US$20M to acquire a 20% share in Proview Electronics and both sides are expected to benefit from the investments. Tatung will benefit from the strategic alliance, less production costs and larger economic scale in sales and production while Proview will profit from the orders coming in from Tatung, from the latter’s overseas manufacturing plants to ship its products all over the world, and from the display panels from Chunghwa Picture Tubes, an affiliate of Tatung.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DISPUTES

Chi Mei Filed Patent Infringement Case Against LPL

Chi Mei filed its first initiated lawsuit in the US against LG Philips LCD Co (LPL) for patent infringement. Allegations state that LPL, a JV between LG Electronics and Royal Philips, had illegally used Chi Mei’s four patents. It further claims that LPL in had infringed on intellectual property rights by using LCD technologies owned by Chi Mei.