Stocks declined for a third day, led by lenders such as First Financial Holding Co (
Newspaper reports say the government has pushed back the timeframe for banks to meet lower bad-loan ratio targets, which will slow down a balance sheet clean-up.
"The health of Taiwan's financial companies will be in doubt if the government lacks the determination to clean up bad loans," said Edward Hsieh, who manages NT$840 million (US$24 million) Duo Fu Fund at First Global Investment Trust Co (元大投信).
First Financial fell NT$0.60, or 2.7 percent, to NT$21.50. Hua Nan Financial shed NT$0.90, or 4 percent, to NT$21.50.
The TAIEX was little changed, dipping 0.13 point to close at 4,550.70. Trading was worth NT$62 billion (US$1.8 billion), or a quarter less than the daily average in the past three months.
Makers of flat-panel displays gained after AU Optronics Corp's (友達電子) chairman said the company may make a first-quarter profit after it increased prices and boosted production this month.
"Demand is very strong," AU Optronics chairman Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀) said on Wednesday. The company will raise prices for benchmark panels that measure 15 inches diagonally and 17-inch screens by up to US$10 dollars, Lee said.
AU Optronics, the world's third-largest maker of flat-panel displays, rose NT$0.90, or 3.8 percent, to NT$24.50. Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), AU's largest rival, climbed NT$0.50, or 4.1 percent, to NT$12.80. Quanta Display Inc (廣明電子) added NT$0.50, or 4 percent, to NT$13.20.
"Demand for flat panels has showed solid improvement, brightening the outlook for liquid crystal displays makers," said Phil Chen, who manages Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co's (大華投信) US$46 million High-Tech Fund.
Chen said he plans to "accumulate" shares of flat-panel makers.
China Airlines (華航) fell NT$0.30, or 2.1 percent, to NT$13.90. The government said it wants to sell a 36 percent stake in the company to raise funds to help pay government debt and update China Airlines' fleet. The government plans to sell the stake by the end of the year to raise as much as NT$17 billion.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained