■ Shares rise sharply
Shares rose sharply yesterday on a rally in the technology sector and suspected buying by government funds.
The TAIEX finished up 121.43 points, or 2.1 percent, to 5,971.06, the highest close since Oct. 12, when it settled at 5,987.40.
Advancers outnumbered decliners 861 to 176, while 156 issues ended the day unchanged.
Dealers said investors started bargain-hunting yesterday despite the weakness in US stocks overnight, with activity concentrated in the technology sector.
"Taiwan's technology-heavy stock index typically tracks Nasdaq very closely, but it has been lagging this year," says Harvey Chang, fund manager at SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券). Taiwan's main index has risen 2.2 percent in the past 12 months, compared with the Nasdaq Composite Index's 3.6 percent gain.
Daily turnover totaled NT$82.65 billion (US$2.50 billion), the highest since Oct. 20, when it was at NT$86.35 billion. The trading value Tuesday was NT$52.91 billion.
■ Toshiba and NEC announce JV
Japanese electronics makers Toshiba Corp and NEC Electronics Corp will jointly develop next-generation semiconductors that are smaller, faster, more efficient and less costly, the two companies announced yesterday.
The new chips will have circuit widths as narrow as 45 nanometers, allowing electronics makers to also shrink the size of their products, a joint statement said.
The companies said joint development would allow the companies to share the hefty costs associated with creating new chip technology and speed up the development process, adding they had started discussing a comprehensive alliance in their operations.
Yesterday's deal came after NEC Electronics warned late last month that it would fall deep into the red this fiscal year after falling sales and prices for a range of its chip products.
■ Direct links with China urged
Taiwan's government should push for direct transportation links with rival China to counter an outflow of business talent from the country, two credit ratings companies said yesterday.
Transporation links would make it possible to keep more Taiwanese businesses on the island and to attract more international companies, said Tony Tsai (蔡東松), a director of Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評), a subsidiary of Standard & Poor's.
"International businesses say that if links are improved, they can put their regional headquarters in Taiwan," Tsai said.
The director of Fitch's Taiwan branch, Jonathan Lee (李信佳), said that regular flights between Taiwan and China would allow Taiwanese business people with mainland interests to live on the island.
"If there are direct links, business people will stay in Taiwan and boost private consumption on the island," Lee said.
■ NT dollar firms slightly
The New Taiwan dollar gained as traders bet a strengthening yen will reduce the risk that regional central banks will sell their currencies. The NT dollar rose NT$0.068 to close at NT$33.648 against its US counterpart on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$560 million.
"The Taiwan dollar is tracking the yen's strength," said Sadaki Kondou, assistant general manager of the treasury department in Taipei at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd, a unit of Japan's second-biggest lender. "A stronger yen leads to speculation the authorities will ease their grip on the currency."
The NT dollar also drew support after stock exchange data showed investors based outside of the country bought a net US$1.72 billion of Taiwan's equities this month.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
At least US$50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: That is the king’s ransom paid two weeks ago to militants linked to al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law. Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of “economic jihad.” Its goal: Oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali’s decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralyzing the west African country’s economy.
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