TAIEX hits four-month low
Taiwan's benchmark index dropped to a four-month low yesterday as investors feared tighter Chinese labor rules would increase costs of Taiwanese operations in China.
The TAIEX fell 302.89 points, or 3.57 percent, to 8,187.95.
Traders said selling pressure will likely persist in coming days due to weak investor confidence stemming from slow seasonal demand for electronics, and political uncertainties ahead of islandwide elections in the first quarter.
Taiwan shares rose moderately early yesterday but changed course mid-morning after local newspapers reported Foxconn Group (富士康集團) has agreed to sign a new labor agreement with its mainland China employees, which analysts said will increase costs.
The law takes effect Jan. 1.
Central bank sells bonds
The central bank said yesterday that it sold NT$25 billion (US$772 million) of 10-year government bonds on behalf of the Ministry of Finance at a yield of 2.509 percent, according to a statement issued yesterday.
The yield is higher than the return rate of 2.42 percent in the last sale of NT$40 billion 10-year bonds on Sept. 19, the statement said.
CPC may restart damaged unit
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) may restart a fire-damaged crude distillation unit at its Kaohsiung refinery next week.
Repairs to the equipment have been completed and the state-run company is waiting for the Kaohsiung city government's approval to resume production, Jessica Tang, a CPC spokeswoman, said by phone from Taipei today.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last