TAIEX gains 1.13 percent
Taiwanese shares closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX increasing 93.42 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 8,289.98.
The bourse opened at 8,245.86 and traded between 8,313.94 and 8,237.67 during the session.
A total of 4.83 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$146.08 billion (US$4.6 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 2,086 to 1,019, with 275 stocks remaining unchanged. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$10.6 billion in shares.
TSMC plans to hire 3,000
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday said it planned to hire more than 3,000 new engineers this year to cope with capacity expansion and technology development.
The announcement came after handset chip designer MediaTek Inc said it planned to add 10 percent to its workforce this year.
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker plans to hold several recruitment meetings in Hsinchu and Tainan from today through March 20, a company statement said.
Cathay Financial books gain
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said its banking unit booked a gain of NT$6.7 million in a NT$440 million land sale in Taichung, a stock exchange filing showed yesterday.
This news came after Cathay Financial, the nation’s biggest financial services provider, said last Friday that its insurance unit would acquire land and a building in Taipei for NT$960 million.
The company posted a preliminary net profit of NT$11.05 billion last year, compared with a net profit of NT$2.2 billion in 2008.
Nomura increases Asia hiring
Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest investment bank, will add as many as 125 people to its fixed-income teams in Asia outside Japan this year as part of a plan to increase revenue from the region by at least 30 percent.
The Tokyo-based lender will focus on expansion in South Korea, Taiwan, China and India, while also hiring in Singapore and Hong Kong, said Jai Rajpal, Asia ex-Japan head of fixed income.
“The focal point is how do we get closer to our clients, especially in Asia, which is a highly fragmented market,” Rajpal said in an interview in Singapore. “The only way to do that is by being local.”
Key forum starts next week
Economists and entrepreneurs from across Asian have been invited to attend the CommonWealth Economic Forum in Taipei on Monday and Tuesday to exchange views on new engines of economic growth in Asia after the global financial crisis.
The two-day event will feature three keynote speakers: former Singaporean deputy prime minister Tony Tan (陳慶炎); Economist executive editor Daniel Franklin; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀).
Topics to be discussed at the six sessions include a new development model for the economy; innovation and branding; the rise of Asian enterprises; opportunities and challenges in Greater China’s economic circle; economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait; and the future of the financial sector.
Local currency gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.054 to close at NT$31.755.
A total of US$537 million changed hands during the day’s trading.
The local currency opened at NT$31.809 and fluctuated between NT$31.736 and NT$31.809.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
RSS