Stocks rose yesterday, led by some of the nation's largest companies such as Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科技), after a Chinese-language newspaper said 17 local brokerages plan to buy NT$4 billion (US$116 million) of stocks to set up a new fund.
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) gained after saying yesterday after the market closed that it plans to repackage as much as US$1 billion worth of shares as global depositary receipts.
The TAIEX added 24.48, or 0.5 percent, to 4,933.79. About two stocks gained for every one that declined. July futures on the index gained 0.7 percent to 4,940.
Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) and 16 other brokerages plan to set up a fund that tracks the performance of a Polaris Securities index that consists of 50 of the country's largest stocks, a Chinese-language newspaper reported.
Polaris and other participating brokerages will buy shares from the market starting yesterday and the fund will start trading on Monday, the report said.
Asustek rose NT$3, or 3.4 percent, to NT$92. MediaTek, the country's highest priced stock and a member of Polaris' index, rose NT$4, or 1.2 percent, to NT$342.
"There's abundant liquidity in Taiwan waiting for a reason to buy stocks," said Fam Hsieh, a fund manager at Grand Cathay Securities Trust Co (
Cathay Financial rose NT$0.40, or 0.9 percent, to NT$43.70. Repackaging existing local shares to overseas depositary receipts may provide a way for the government and its other major shareholders to pare their stakes without hurting the local stock price.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (
First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) rose NT$0.10, or 0.5 percent, to NT$21.70. It will buy a life-insurance joint venture between Mass-Mutual Financial Group and Mercuries & Associates Ltd (三商行) in Taiwan, the cnYES.com news Web site reported.
The lender will pay for Taipei-based MassMutual Mercuries Life Ltd in stock, the Web site reported.
Ritek Corp (錸德) rose NT$0.20, or 0.8 percent, to NT$25.50. The company expects the recordable-DVD disc market to double annually the next five years, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, citing chief executive officer Gordon Yeh (葉垂景).
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],”
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
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