Asian currencies completed a weekly decline, led by a 0.9 percent loss in the Indonesian rupiah, as overseas investors reduced holdings in the region's stocks.
Global funds were net sellers of shares in Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand this week as benchmark equity indexes fell. Indonesia's central bank said on Wednesday it's not worried by the rupiah's weakness and the IMF said the next day the volatility in financial markets posed a risk to economic growth.
"Investors are still cautious on the region, given there is still equity selling," said Ben Simpfendorfer, a foreign-exchange strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. "The shakeout so far hasn't been too extensive."
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US currency on the Taipei Foreign Exchange on Friday, shedding NT$0.007 to close at NT$32.871. A total of US$689 million changed hands during the day's trading.
The US currency opened at NT$32.805 and fluctuated between NT$32.775 and NT$32.880.
The US dollar fell against the yen, to ?118.02, compared with ?119.19 late on Thursday.
The Indonesian rupiah fell to 9,274 per US dollar, from 9,195 at the start of the week. The Singapore dollar slipped 0.3 percent to S$1.5185, the biggest five-day loss in almost two months, and the Malaysian ringgit weakened 0.1 percent to 3.4610.
The won also slid as the Bank of Korea said on Friday it would restrict companies from borrowing in foreign currencies, trying to cool a 0.7 percent gain this year. A stronger currency threatens exports, which account for 40 percent of the economy, by making them more expensive to overseas buyers.
"It's a good move, as they're trying to take active measures without disturbing the market too much," said Steve Rowles, an analyst with CFC Seymour in Hong Kong. "The exporters are all up in arms about the currency and these sort of actions may slow the won down a bit."
Separately, South Korean Finance Minister Kwon Okyu said on Friday that so-called carry trades, where investors borrow in the yen and invest elsewhere, are "a potential threat to the international financial markets and there is a need for a global reaction."
Japan's benchmark overnight lending rate is 0.5 percent, compared with 4.75 percent in South Korea. The won has risen 1 percent versus the yen this year.
The Thai baht fell 0.1 percent onshore yesterday to 33.85, taking the loss for the week to 0.4 percent, as Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said Thailand's central bank may be able to cut borrowing costs as inflation slows.
The Philippine peso rose 0.6 percent in the five days to 45.455 as central bank Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said gains aren't affecting export competitiveness and economic growth may accelerate to 6.8 percent next year from between 6.1 percent and 6.7 percent this year.
Elsewhere, the Vietnam dong lost 0.1 percent to 16,160.00.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS