Stocks rose, led by the nation's biggest companies such as Tai-wan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC, 台積電), on optimism the government will help companies affected by the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The TAIEX rose 14.30, or 0.3 percent, to 4,202.12. About five stocks gained for every two that declined. MSCI Taiwan futures for May delivery in Singapore gained 0.1 percent to 182.10.
"The government is stepping up efforts to contain SARS, but most investors are still cautious," said Phil Chen, who manages Grand Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co's (大華投信) US$46 million High-Tech Fund.
"The key question is if China can contain the outbreak, because Taiwan's economy is closely linked to China," he said.
TSMC, the world's biggest supplier of made-to-order chips, added NT$0.20, or 0.4 percent, to NT$48.50. Quanta Computer Inc (
Still, some financial companies such as Cathay Financial Holding Co (
Cathay Financial, the nation's largest life insurer, fell NT$0.10, or 1 percent, to NT$39.40.
MediaTek Inc (聯發科技) fell NT$2 or 0.7 percent, to NT$286 after it said it expects sales in the second quarter to decline by less than 10 percent from the first three months as demand for computer-related products slows.
Via Technologies Inc (威盛電子) fell NT$0.30, or 0.8 percent, to NT$38.10. The company said on Friday that sales last month fell 15 percent from a year earlier.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six