TAIEX up on bank branch OK
The TAIEX closed up 0.31 percent yesterday, with financial shares boosted by the Chinese approval of four Taiwanese banks to set up branches in China, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 24.92 points to 8,191.54, after moving between 8,191.38 and 8,240.86, on turnover of NT$125.33 billion (US$3.99 billion).
Encouraged by a rally on Wall Street on Friday, the local market opened up 0.89 percent and soon reached the day’s high above the 8,240-point mark. However, the market was unable to maintain the rising momentum because most investors were still cautious about an upcoming central bank policy meeting to be held on Thursday, analysts said.
The dealers said market turnover needs to exceed NT$160 billion for the index to stand firm above the 8,200 level.
Ubilux gets NT$1.2bn in loans
Ubilux Optoelectronics Corp (晶發光電) signed NT$1.2 billion worth of five-year syndicated loans with eight banks, including Mega Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀).
The funds will be used to purchase equipment, repay debts and to strengthen working capital, Mega said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The other lenders include Bank of Panhsin (板信銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), EnTie Commercial Bank (安泰銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), Taichung Commercial Bank (台中商銀) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), the statement said.
Motech, PRC firm sign deal
Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), one of the nation’s biggest solar-cell makers, yesterday said it has inked a US$107 million contract with Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source Co Ltd (浙江昱輝陽光能源有限公司) to supply polysilicon solar wafers.
Based on the contract, Zhejiang Yuhui Solar Energy Source will start to supply solar wafers from this month to December 2013, according to a Motech filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE, 台灣證券交易所) yesterday.
The supply contract will help Motech obtain sufficient solar wafer for future production, it said.
CPC seeks West African crude
CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) is seeking to buy low-sulfur, West African crude for loading in December, the company said in a notice on its Web site.
Separately, CPC said it would put off maintenance at its No. 10 crude distillation unit at its Talin refinery because of delays in finding a contractor.
The unit, able to process 100,000 barrels a day, will be shut for 30 to 33 days starting early next month, CPC vice president Paul Chen (陳綠蔚) said by phone in Taipei yesterday. CPC had planned to close the unit later this month.
TWSE predicts foreign listings
TWSE chairman Schive Chi (薛琦) forecast yesterday that more overseas companies than local firms will list next year on the stock exchange, as Taiwan will do better at raising capital in international markets.
The number of foreign enterprises expected to list on the TWSE this year will almost equal the number of new domestic listings, Schive said at a ceremony for Nuvoton Technology Corp’s (新唐科技) listing.
The exchange has set a target of 50 new listings for this year, 26 of which will be by domestic companies, Schive said.
It would not be difficult to attract another 150 listings on the TWSE in three years, he said.
NT dollar rises NT$0.15
The New Taiwan dollar rose NT$0.15 against the greenback yesterday to close at NT$31.470.
Turnover totaled US$820 million during the trading session.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”