Stocks fell for a third day yesterday after the government said the nation's economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the first quarter and cut its annual growth forecast as the SARS outbreak threatens travel, consumer spending, investment and exports.
Asustek Computer Inc (
The TAIEX dropped 27.97, or 0.7 percent, to 4,255.80. Almost four stocks fell for every one that advanced. The value of trade was NT$23.7 billion (US$683 million), the lowest level since Oct. 2, 2001.
The Taiwan Futures Index fell 0.5 percent to 4,239.
GDP grew 3.21 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier after expanding 4.22 percent in the fourth quarter, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Friday. The government also cut its full-year economic growth forecast to 2.89 percent from 3.68 percent.
Asustek Computer, the nation's largest computer-motherboard maker, fell NT$1, or 1.4 percent, to NT$72.
Quanta Computer, the country's largest notebook-computer make, declined 50 cents, or 0.8 percent, to NT$62.
"The rollout of new models of handsets and notebook computers may be delayed because of SARS," said James Tu (
"The outbreak hasn't been effectively contained," he said.
China Airlines Co (華航) fell NT$0.05, or 0.4 percent, to NT$11.50. The carrier, reiterated a preliminary estimated reduction of NT$1.1 billion in sales in the second quarter after SARS curbed travel demand, according to the airlines' statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
EVA Airways Corp (
Grand Commercial Bank (
The lender that's controlled by the nation's largest food company, Uni-President Group (
Potential buyers include Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (
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