Industrial News

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala Corp.’s energy unit is planning to build two new solar plants in Central Luzon in a bid to become Southeast Asia’s largest renewables platform by 2025. In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Wednesday, Ayala-led AC Energy Philippines Inc. said the company board has approved the solar projects cumulatively worth P6.1 billion, which aim to generate a combined energy output of 150 megawatts (MW) by 2022. “While we are facing significant challenges amidst the current crisis, ACEN remains committed to investing in the country and drive renewables expansion,” Eric Francia, company president and chief executive, said [...]

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ electronics sector stands to benefit from increasing global demand for tech goods amid COVID-19 lockdowns worldwide, hence would help ease the domestic recession inflicted by the pandemic, the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF) said. “Restrictions on people’s daily activities led to significant behavioral changes, which exacerbated pre-existing trends towards remote work and online learning. Such developments stimulated demand for electronic applications, computing devices, and other technology-related products,” IIF said in a July 29 report titled “EM Asia: COVID-Induced External Adjustment.” This bigger demand for high-tech gadgets already jacked up first-half exports of computer and component [...]

It looks like we'll be waving goodbye to the Mitsubishi Pajero soon. After releasing two “Final Editions” of the Pajero in Japan and in Germany, Mitsubishi is set to cease production of the long-running SUV. According to a report from Nikkei, Mitsubishi cited plummeting sales and the global pandemic, and are now preparing to shut down the Pajero Manufacturing Co. facility by next year. With the company no longer offering the Pajero in the domestic market, as well as the decline in sales in other global markets, the factory's output rate has dropped significantly. In 2019, Mitsubishi only made a total of 63,000 [...]

Bilyonaryo Jerry Liu has not stopped shedding his stake in his semiconductor firm based in Laguna Techno park. Liu reported selling five million shares of Cirtek Holdings Corp. at P6.57 on July 12, for a total value of P32.85 million. The 72-year old businessman has disposed a total of 30 million Cirtek shares in the last three months. He has reduced his stake in the company to 42.69 percent as of July 12 from 49.85 percent in April. UPDATED: Jerry Liu unloads P40M Cirtek shares In a meeting on July 17, Cirtek’s board approved a cash dividend of $0.001193137 or [...]

TOKYO -- Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on Friday unveiled the first group of Japanese companies to subsidize for shifting manufacturing out of China to Southeast Asia or Japan. Eighty-seven companies or groups will receive a total of 70 billion yen ($653 million) to move production lines, in a bid to reduce Japan's reliance on its large neighbor and build resilient supply chains. Thirty of these will shift production to Southeast Asia, including Hoya, which produces hard-drive parts and will move to Vietnam and Laos. Sumitomo Rubber Industries will make nitrile rubber gloves in Malaysia, while Shin-Etsu Chemical will shift production of rare-earth [...]

Analog Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADI) and Maxim Integrated Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXIM) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which ADI will acquire Maxim in an all stock transaction that values the combined enterprise at over $68 billion2. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies, will strengthen ADI as an analog semiconductor leader with increased breadth and scale across multiple attractive end markets. Under the terms of the agreement, Maxim stockholders will receive 0.630 of a share of ADI common stock for each share of Maxim common stock they [...]

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) fears the global recession might prompt companies to cut down on costs, forcing them to pull out of the Philippines and focus operations on more investor-friendly countries instead. PEZA Director General Charito Plaza said in a press briefing on Tuesday that it is doing what it could to keep its current locators, but she could not shake off the fear that they might leave at some point. For now, no locator has left yet. However, she said the agency, which provides tax breaks to exporters such as income tax holidays, cannot stop [...]

TOKYO/KYOTO — Japanese components makers are deliberation bringing some-more of a prolongation routine behind home as bureau automation reduces costs and pandemic-induced plant shutdowns abroad prompt them to rethink supply chains. Chipmaker Rohm has grown a prolongation line that automates a labor-intensive back-end of semiconductor fabrication. The association will try out a line during a Fukuoka Prefecture bureau starting this summer, with skeleton to ramp adult to mass prolongation in a second half of 2021. “With entirely or partially programmed lines, operations can be essential in Japan,” President Isao Matsumoto told Nikkei, phenomenon skeleton to pierce partial of a behind finish of prolongation [...]

THE continued suspension of flights from China and Hong Kong is making semiconductor and electronics companies jittery and forcing some to consider shutting down operations for lack of raw materials. There are 14 semiconductor and electronics locators in Central Visayas accredited by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority. They manufacture chargers, optical disc drives, electronic connectors, aluminum bonding wires, electrical switches and others. The industry in the Philippines employs 3.2 million direct and indirect workers. In Central Visayas, there are about 50,000 direct jobs. Dan Lachica, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (Seipi) president, said Monday, Feb. 18, [...]

Broadcom Inc. appears to have quietly acquired Bay Dynamics Inc., a cyber risk analytics software company, according to regulatory documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Neither company could be reached for comment, but an equity incentive plan filed with the SEC indicates that the San Jose chipmaker entered a merger agreement to acquire Bay Dynamics as a subsidiary on Dec. 19. New York-based Bay Dynamics was founded in 2001 and was valued at $92 million as of July 2016, after raising a total of $31 million in funding, according to Pitchbook. The acquisition comes as the latest step in Broadcom’s buildout of [...]