From Taiwan, Via Eyes China's Tech Sector
President Barack Obama has been spending considerable time on East-West trade agreements while in Asia, but for one chip maker, the negotiations between China and Taiwan are even more important.
The two countries are slowly moving toward a formalized trade agreement, called the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA, that will address how their economies relate to each another. Its first iteration isn’t expected until early 2010, but Taiwan-based tech companies are already hoping to gain entry to China’s massive consumer market.
That’s especially true for Via Technologies, a chip maker running a distant third behind industry heavyweights Intel (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The company, founded in 1987, made a name for itself working on an underdeveloped part of the market: small, low-power chips.