Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) announced preliminary consolidated financial results for 2025 on January 12, reporting a combined net loss after tax of approximately NT$1.093 billion (US$34.56 million), a reversal from a net profit of NT$8.458 billion in 2024. Among its four major companies, Nan Ya Plastics and Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) posted profit growth, while Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC) recorded a wider loss, and Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation (FCFC) posted its first-ever loss since listing.

Darfon is actively expanding into the energy and high-end niche application markets. Its subsidiary focused on new energy solutions, Darfon Energy Tech, announced on January 12, 2026, that its board approved a cash acquisition of up to NT$540 million (approx. US$17.1 million) for 100% equity in Hitron. This move reportedly aims to integrate both companies' power supply technology strengths and further expand their footprint in edge AI, industrial control, and medical application markets.

At CES 2026, Nvidia revealed Vera Rubin, which significantly increases server power consumption, underscoring the urgent need for improved power delivery and energy efficiency. This surge in computing demands is driving Taiwanese microcontroller unit (MCU) manufacturers to develop advanced cooling fan solutions to meet AI server requirements.

Acer is promoting the independent development of its subsidiaries, using a multi-faceted strategy to drive group growth. Three subsidiaries under Acer's Pan-Asia operations headquarters are optimistic about their 2026 outlook, each targeting double-digit growth. Atlos will expand its AI server business; HSN will expand into multiple countries, brands, and product categories; and Acer Intelligence Space (ITS) will expand into home appliances under the Acerpure brand.

Taiwan recorded a GDP growth of over 7% in 2025, driven by an AI-fueled export surge, yet the headline growth conceals mounting pressures on traditional industries grappling with US tariffs and an intensifying domestic talent crunch.

Taiwan's electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and original design manufacturing (ODM) sector closed December 2025 with a sharply bifurcated performance: AI server and cloud data-center supply chains continued to post standout growth and fresh revenue records, while PC-focused ODMs were steady, and many traditional consumer-electronics and peripherals manufacturers remained subdued. Automotive, industrial, and IoT-related businesses showed signs of recovery, but results varied widely by project timing and customer qualification cycles.

At CES 2026, LG unveiled several innovative products, but the spotlight was on its global debut of the household robot CLOiD. This home robot is an evolution of LG's 2018 CLOi series, featuring upgraded robotics technology and aligning with CES 2026's "Zero Labor" vision to tackle the last mile of automated household chores—such as placing food in the oven or removing and folding laundry.

Acer is intensifying its efforts in the Indian PC market, aiming to increase its consumer PC market share from 15% to 20% by 2026, with gaming PCs playing a central role, according to Harish Kohli, president and managing director of Acer India. The company's push includes hosting the annual Predator League esports finals in New Delhi.

India's PC market is poised for strong growth, supported by the country's vast population and proactive government initiatives in digital transformation and local manufacturing. Despite India's population of 1.5 billion, the current annual PC sales volume is only around 15 million units, reflecting a penetration rate of roughly 10%, according to Harish Kohli, president and managing director of Acer India. This gap indicates a substantial opportunity for growth in both demand and production.

If today's AI data centers are blazing "powder kegs" of heat, IBM was the visionary that prepared the "fire extinguisher" half a century ago. While Nvidia's top chips now require water cooling to operate, few realize that this technology's "biological father" actually dates back to IBM in the 1960s. Today, we explore this groundbreaking US patent 3,524,497 ("Patent 497") and its blue-cooling revolution spanning over 50 years.

At CES 2026, AI PCs are accelerating toward widespread adoption with a fundamental shift: AI has evolved from a single feature to the core architecture of entire products. This transformation spans chips, systems, and end-user ecosystems, driving AI PCs into a new phase of scaled deployment.

Distribution giant Synnex Technology International Corp. posted robust revenue growth in December 2025, benefiting from rising memory prices and increased demand for AI server applications. The company's consolidated revenue for the month reached NT$47.025 billion (approx. US$1.49 billion), up 13.6% from November and 13.8% year-over-year.

Memory price surges are reshaping the global smartphone market outlook for 2026, according to insiders at Sunny Optical. Significant order reductions from Chinese manufacturers amid soaring memory costs signal challenges ahead for the industry.

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, China's major exhibitors prominently showcased products under the banner of "innovation," drawing significant attention on the show floor. However, some observers noted that many Chinese products closely resemble existing concepts from global companies, with industry insiders accusing Chinese firms not only of imitation but also of repackaging copied designs as independently developed innovations.

Given shifting tariff policies and ongoing supply chain restructuring, Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are undergoing a structural transformation in their foreign trade models. Annie Liao, the newly appointed general manager of Alibaba.com Taiwan, observed that order-taking practices that were once concentrated in a few markets have loosened over the past year. More companies are now experimenting with diversified export markets and accepting smaller but more varied orders. Taiwan manufacturers' flexibility in customization and strong capability to replicate and refine products have become key advantages that set them apart from competitors.

Japanese glass manufacturer AGC Corporation announced the completion of a major restructuring initiative, exiting the small-glass-substrate business for mobile phones. This move signals a pivotal step toward corporate recovery. The company has faced substantial impairment losses in its display, electronic device, and pharmaceutical segments since 2020 due to fluctuating demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lenovo is aiming to double its business in India over the next three years, leveraging strong growth in its Motorola smartphone segment and its infrastructure and services verticals, according to company executives. Lenovo's Asia Pacific leadership highlighted domestic consumption and the "India for the world" strategy as central to the company's future expansion, with India emerging as one of Lenovo's fastest-growing markets worldwide, according to the Economic Times.

Below are the most-read DIGITIMES Asia stories of the first full week of 2026: January 5-11.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized strong AI computing demand at CES 2026, showcasing the latest products and technologies while dispelling AI bubble concerns. He highlighted continuous performance gains from Hopper to Blackwell and the next-generation Vera Rubin architectures, projecting significant inference cost reductions.

Benefiting from a rebound in global retail, financial automation, and cybersecurity demand, Industrial PC (IPC) maker Ennoconn announced that its Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) business grew significantly, pushing monthly revenue to a new record high. Although cumulative full-year 2025 revenue showed a slight year-over-year decline due to the timing of project revenue recognition, Ennoconn's standalone operations maintained double-digit growth for the full year. This shows that the group's efforts in optimizing its product mix and transitioning toward higher-margin Ennoconn Solution as a Service (ESaaS) strategies have begun to pay off.

GSEO announced that its consolidated revenue for December 2025 reached NT$2.63 billion (approx. US$83.3 million), up NT$361 million from November's NT$2.269 billion, representing a month-over-month increase of 15.92%. Compared to December 2024's NT$1.449 billion, this marked an 81.50% year-over-year growth. The company's cumulative consolidated revenue for the entire 2025 was NT$24.987 billion, rising by 7.78% year-over-year.

Japanese semiconductor equipment maker TEL is ramping up investments to capitalize on a supercycle in memory demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) servers. With DRAM and other memory prices expected to surge roughly 10x starting fall 2025, rapid global data center expansion is fueling explosive demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing tools.

India's backend semiconductor makers see temporary relief from material constraints linked to legacy packaging, as KLA opens a US$36 million R&D hub in Chennai to boost AI, software, and process control capabilities.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang addressed concerns over tight memory supply and soaring prices during a media Q&A at CES 2026, stating that Nvidia is likely the world's only chip company consistently purchasing large volumes of memory and ranks among the largest direct memory buyers globally.