At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, AU Optronics Corp (
AU Optronics chairman Lee Kun-yao (
AU Optronics joins industry leader Samsung Electronics Co in predicting a market recovery. Prices of LCD panels used in computer and TV sets started to rise in April, helped by increased orders from TV and computer makers, according to estimates by research firm Witsview Technology Corp (
AU Optronics' so-called 7.5-generation factory, which produces TV screens measuring 40 inches and above, can currently process 40,000 sheets of glass a month, Chen told shareholders.
The factory's monthly capacity will climb to 80,000 by the third quarter of next year after reaching 60,000 in this year's third quarter, he said.
The company, which reported a NT$5.11 billion (US$154.7 million) net loss in the first quarter, will probably post a net income of NT$1.01 billion in the quarter ending June 30, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. A Reuters poll showed an average estimate of NT$1.55 billion.
During the one-hour shareholder meeting yesterday in Hsinchu, Lee had his term extended for three more years, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. Chen will also continue his term for another three years, the filing said.
But Quanta Computer Inc's (
Taoyuan-based Quanta Computer, the world's largest maker of laptop computers sold under other companies' brands, is AU Optronics' second-largest shareholder with a 5.31 percent stake.
Quanta president Michael Wang (
Prior to the shareholder meeting, Quanta Computer was rumored to be planning to elect its representatives to the board of AU Optronics. Quanta's LCD unit, Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), was acquired by AU Optronics in April last year through a share-swap deal.
Both Quanta Computer and AU Optronics declined to comment on the matter yesterday.
However, the Chinese-language United Evening News quoted Lee as saying that AU Optronics had invited Quanta Computer to join the board, but that "Quanta decided not to do so."
Shares of AU Optronics rose 0.19 percent to close at NT$55.30 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, compared with a 0.29 percent decline on the benchmark TAIEX index.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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