TAIEX dips on global worries
Renewed concerns over the global economy prevented the local bourse from making further gains and sent the TAIEX into negative territory at the end of the session yesterday, after the US and Europe reported disappointing job data overnight, dealers said.
However, selected high-tech heavyweights, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC 台積電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), were resilient throughout the session, lending some support to the broader market, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 17.28 points, or 0.23 percent, at 7,659.53, after moving between 7,643.09 and 7,681.23. Turnover during the session totalled NT$83.25 billion (US$2.85 billion).
Intel Capital integrates staff
Intel Capital, the investment arm of US chipmaker Intel Corp, announced yesterday that it has integrated its operations in Taiwan and South Korea with its Asia-Pacific headquarters.
The move will reinforce Intel Capital’s continuing commitment toward accelerating growth and innovation by promising greater alignment and cohesion, said Sudheer Kuppam, managing director of Asia-Pacific region at Intel Capital.
Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$10.5 billion in 1,230 companies in 51 countries. It has also invested US$200 million in more than 40 Taiwanese companies over the past 10 years.
Nanya sales up from last month
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), Taiwan’s biggest DRAM chipmaker, yesterday said its sales grew 14.3 percent to NT$3.41 billion (US$116.7 million) last month from March, but down 23.1 percent from the same period last year.
Accumulated sales in the first four months totalled NT$12.21 billion, down 19.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Nanya.
Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), a joint venture between Nanya Technology and US memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, said last month’s sales increased 19.1 percent month-on-month, but dropped 6.2 percent year-on-year to NT$3 billion.
Another memorychip maker, Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技), said it saw last month’s sales rise 7.5 percent to NT$2.27 billion from March, but down 43.7 percent on year. In the first four months, total sales fell 48.4 percent to NT$7.72 billion from the year before, the company said.
DBS speeds remittance service
DBS Bank Taiwan yesterday launched a new remittance service that will allow local corporate clients to remit US dollars from Taiwan to China in three hours, the fastest such service.
The Singaporean bank has extended the daily deadline to 3:30pm and pledges to shorten the processing time to within three hours, allowing customers more efficient cash management, said Sean Chen (陳識仁), head of DBS Global Transaction Services.
Foreign fund inflows slow
Foreign fund inflows slowed last month with the cumulative total standing at US$162.55 billion, down US$291 million from late March, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
In the first four months, foreign investors bought net NT$115.89 billion of local shares and another NT$683 million of emerging market stocks, it said.
NT dollar edges down
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar yesterday, edging down NT$0.026 to close at NT$29.266, as the local currency weakened in reflection of a falling euro after Europe reported higher unemployment, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$808 million during the trading session.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
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