MediaTek will recruit an additional 1,000 employees in 2017, said newly-appointed co-CEO Rick Tsai at the company's general shareholders meeting recently.

Speculation circulated previously in Taiwan's chipmaking industry that MediaTek would initiate massive layoffs after the new co-CEO took the job, which was denied by the company.

MediaTek has no plans for layoffs, said Tsai, adding that talent is part of the company's resources.

MediaTek is pursuing new growth opportunities, since competition in the handset-chip industry has become fierce, Tsai indicated. The company is also looking to optimize further its product roadmap while enhancing relationships with its customers, Tsai said.

In terms of technology and sales, MediaTek aims to be a world-class semiconductor company, Tsai noted.

MediaTek's gross margin has dropped since the end of 2016, while the company's share of the smartphone-chip market has also decreased. Company chairman Ming-Kai Tsai admitted there were problems with product planning. Therefore, MediaTek's present task is to stabilize its gross margin, and to gradually regain its market share, according to Tsai.

MediaTek has plans to roll out new products with more competitive features in the second half of 2017, chairman Tsai indicated. The company will see its performance in the second half of 2017 outperform that in the first half, and expects business to return to previously-high levels in the next 1-2 years, according to Tsai.

As for new product planning, co-CEO Tsai disclosed that MediaTek will be working with TSMC in the development of 7nm chips. TSMC's 7nm process particularly for low-power products is quite competitive, Tsai said. MediaTek is also looking to work with other foundry chipmakers, Tsai added.

In other news, MediaTek's shareholders have approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$8 (US$0.26) for 2016, when the company reported EPS of NT$15.16 on record revenues of NT$275.5 billion.