Taiwan lagged neighboring countries in racking up trade surplus in the first five months of the year, an indication that there will not be much room for the local currency to appreciate further, according to the newest tallies compiled by the nation's central bank.
Statistics made public on Wednesday by the central bank in Taipei show that the country had a total trade surplus of US$549 million for the first five months of this year, well behind China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
Japan had a trade surplus of nearly US$34.6 billion in the January-to-May period, while China followed with about US$30 billion. South Korea and Singapore had US$10.3 billion and US$6.08 billion, respectively.
Taiwan's weaker performance in foreign trade means that the country's supply of US dollars is tight, leaving little room for the New Taiwan dollar to further gain in value against the greenback, central bank officials said.
The NT dollar yesterday closed NT$0.004 lower at NT$31.359 against the US dollar on the Taipei foreign-exchange market. Turnover was US$616 million, down from US$666 million the previous day.
The NT dollar may rise in coming days after global investors bought the most stocks in almost a week.
Overseas money managers yesterday bought a net NT$1.3 billion (US$41 million) of the nation's shares, the biggest amount since June 17 and only the second time this month that net purchases exceeded NT$1 billion, according to stock exchange figures.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS