Apple suppliers lead fall
Lingering concerns over a possible capital gains tax on stock investments continued to weigh on the local bourse yesterday, with the TAIEX reversing an early trade upswing to close in negative territory, dealers said.
Selling focused on high-tech stocks, in particular on firms in Apple Inc’s supply chain, which were boosted by the US consumer electronics giant’s strong first-quarter results as investors rushed to pocket profits, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 41.83 points, or 0.55 percent, at 7,521.35, after fluctuating between 7,509.88 and 7,600.45, on turnover of NT$68.78 billion (US$2.34 billion).
At the end of the session, the machinery and electronics sector had suffered the heaviest losses among the eight major stock categories, finishing down 1.1 percent.
Bucking the decline on the broader market, foodstuffs rose 0.5 percent and plastics and chemicals gained 0.2 percent.
China Development in China
China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) yesterday opened a financial leasing company in the city of Kunshan in China’s Jiangsu Province.
The financial leasing unit — CDIB International Leasing (中華開發國際租賃) — is China Development Financial’s first foothold in China and will extend its reach to neighboring cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou in an initial phase, hoping to break even next year and turn a profit in 2014, it said.
Over the next five years, the financial leasing company will raise its capital to US$250 million from the current US$20 million in a bid to provide a wider range of services to small and medium-sized corporate clients.
Apple reseller expands further
Studio A Inc (晶實科技), the largest chain of Apple resellers in the nation, opened its first store in Greater Taichung on Wednesday as part of its national expansion plan.
Studio A is eyeing the purchasing power of consumers in the central city and also plans to set up stores in Hsinchu and Greater Tainan, the company said.
Studio A opened 30 stores across the nation in four years and moved into Hong Kong, China and South Korea in 2010.
The company said it aims to establish more than 100 stores in the Greater China area.
IBM initiates research project
IBM announced a joint research project on an integrated-circuit design with Taiwan’s Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University on Wednesday, which aims to apply the technology in the field of medicine.
The goal of the open collaborative research project is to develop a type of integrated circuit called optimized field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and use it in cancer radiotherapy and tumor detection, IBM Taiwan said.
With the use of such technology, hopefully the course of cancer treatment will be shortened, IBM Taiwan said.
UMC bonds on sale next month
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No 2 contract chipmaker, plans to sell NT$7.5 billion of five-year bonds, NT$5 billion of seven-year bonds and NT$2.5 billion of 10-year bonds in an auction on May 7, according to three people familiar with the matter.
UMC said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Wednesday it planned to use the proceeds to expand production capacity using advanced technologies.
Bernanke boosts NT dollar
The New Taiwan dollar rose to a three-week high after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said more US stimulus measures would be available if necessary, boosting demand for riskier assets.
The NT dollar rose 0.4 percent to NT$29.412 against its US counterpart, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The currency was trading at a three-week high of NT$29.353 before trimming the advance on speculation the central bank sought to curb gains, according to two traders who declined to be identified.
“Bernanke’s comments spurred risk-taking today,” said Samson Tu (涂韶鈺), a Taipei-based fund manager at Uni-President Assets Management Corp (統一投信), who helps manage US$1.6 billion of fixed-income securities.
“It’s boosting the Taiwan dollar and regional currencies,” he said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
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