TAIEX passes 8,000 points
Share prices closed above 8,000 points yesterday after moving up 1.2 percent as the second round of negotiations on a cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) entered its final day.
China-concept and construction shares led the TAIEX’s rise, gaining 93.03 points to close at 8,013.09.
The bourse opened at a low of 7,952.62 and hit a high of 8,026.06 during the day’s trading. Turnover totaled NT$138.42 billion (US$4.34 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 2,027 to 1,071, with 325 stocks remaining unchanged.
Institutional investors were on the buy side, with foreign investors and Chinese qualified domestic institutional investors making net purchases of NT$17.11 billion in shares.
US probes Apple’s HTC lawsuit
A US trade agency said it would investigate Apple Inc’s patent-infringement claims against Taiwan’s HTC Corp (宏達電) to determine if its phones using Google Inc’s Android operating system should be banned from the US.
Apple says HTC phones infringe on 10 patents related to the implementation of the operating system. It filed the complaint last month with the US International Trade Commission (USITC) in Washington.
“By instituting this investigation, the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
US investigates HP complaint
The US International Trade Commission said on Wednesday it had begun an investigation into Hewlett-Packard Co’s (HP) patent-infringement claims against Taiwanese ink-cartridge maker MicroJet Technology Co (研能科技) and four other companies.
HP is seeking to block imports of HP-compatible color ink cartridges, saying they are using HP inventions without permission.
Companies that sell the MicroJet cartridges made in Taiwan were also included in the investigation.
Those companies are Mipo Technology Ltd (麥普科技) of Hong Kong and its related MexTec of Miami, SinoTime Technologies of Miami and PTC Holdings Ltd of Hong Kong, the complaint said.
HSBC Taiwan to open in May
HSBC yesterday said its locally incorporated entity — HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) — would begin operations on May 1 with headquarters in Taipei.
The subsidiary will enhance its local presence, supporting its growth strategies for capturing more business opportunities in Greater China and emerging markets, the bank said in a press statement.
Company president and chief executive officer Nicholas Winsor reiterated in the statement that the bank’s local incorporation would increase its direct participation in the domestic market.
Formosa favors LPG
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), the nation’s only publicly traded oil refiner, plans to alter its ethylene plants to enable them to use more liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) instead of naphtha.
The company will complete adjustments at the plants by the end of this year, after which lower-cost LPG would account for a maximum of 30 percent of feedstock requirements, compared with 15 percent currently, Lin Keh-yen (林克彥), a company spokesman, said by telephone yesterday.
New Taiwan dollar advances
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.031 to close at NT$31.788. Turnover was US$760 million.
Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday introduced the company’s latest supercomputer platform, featuring six new chips made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), saying that it is now “in full production.” “If Vera Rubin is going to be in time for this year, it must be in production by now, and so, today I can tell you that Vera Rubin is in full production,” Huang said during his keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. The rollout of six concurrent chips for Vera Rubin — the company’s next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) computing platform — marks a strategic
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
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