TAIEX hit by profit concerns
Profit concerns triggered by high-tech firms’ lower-than-expected first-quarter results sent the TAIEX tumbling below the 9,000-point mark yesterday, dealers said.
“China concept stocks,” which have set up strong footholds in China, also encountered selling pressure as investors were disappointed with Chinese consumption figures during the shortened Labor Day holiday, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 61.79 points, or 0.69 percent, at 8,946.08, after moving between 8,895.25 and 9,018.25 on turnover of NT$123.79 billion (US$4.31 billion).
Exports rank 16th: WTO
Exports jumped 35 percent last year and pushed Taiwan up one notch to 16th-highest in the world, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
Taiwanese outbound shipments last year reached US$274.6 billion, thanks to a recovering global economy, WTO figures show, the DGBAS said.
In terms of imports, Taiwan ranked 17th, with inbound shipments surging 44 percent last year to US$251.2 billion.
China topped the rankings with an export value of US$1.58 trillion, up 31 percent year-on-year. The US and Germany placed second and third respectively.
US exports rose 21 percent year-on-year to US$1.28 trillion, while Germany’s climbed 13 percent to US$1.27 trillion.
The US placed first in imports, with US$1.97 trillion, followed by China with US$1.4 trillion and Germany with US$1.07 trillion.
DRAM makers’ sales vary
DRAM maker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) said yesterday sales last month rose almost 20 percent from March, while smaller maker Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技) saw revenue in the month fall more than 10 percent.
Nanya Technology said sales last month climbed 18.7 percent to NT$4.44 billion (US$153 million) on the back of higher shipments and a recovery in average selling prices.
In contrast, lower shipments dragged down Inotera’s sales last month by 11.8 percent to NT$3.2 billion.
Product prices are expected to rise further this month on growing demand, Nanya Technology said.
Broadband rate plans pass
The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday approved a promotional plan submitted by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) for 20 megabyte and 50 megabyte broadband service.
During a promotional period of six months, the retail price for the 20 megabyte service will drop from a nominal price of NT$1,389 to NT$1,039, while that for its 50 megabyte service will be reduced from NT$1,700 to NT$1,199.
The commission also required Chunghwa Telecom to lower its wholesale price to other telecom operators.
“We wanted to make sure that the promotional plan will not affect other operators and place them at a disadvantage,” NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said on Monday.
Yuanta sells NT$10bn in bonds
Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) sold NT$10 billion in bonds in two tranches, to help repay maturing debt and fund acquisitions, the Taipei-based company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
The company will pay an interest of 1.3 percent on the NT$5.5 billion three-year notes priced yesterday, and 1.5 percent on the NT$4.5 billion five-year debt, according to the statement.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose NT$0.06 to close at NT$28.702 against the US dollar on turnover of US$798 million.
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
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],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained