Despite the still negative macroeconomic fundamentals at home and abroad, companies in the electronics industry are likely to benefit from last week’s Computex Taipei and Apple’s annual developers conference this week, analysts said.
As the electronics industry enters its traditional high season, these key industry showcases are expected to provide a clear, positive signal for the sector, Kent Liu (劉宇衡), a fund manager at Taishin Securities Investment Trust Co (台新投信), said in a note on Friday.
The TAIEX fell 106.44 points, or 1.5 percent, last week to close at 6,999.65 in Friday’s trading, data from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) showed. Compared with this year’s closing high of 8,144.04 on March 2, the index has dropped 14.05 percent, data showed.
“Among the major sectors of the stock market, companies involved in Apple’s supply chain are likely to outperform other sectors in the short term,” Liu said.
Apple Inc is expected to unveil its new software apps and upgraded MacBook-series products at an event in San Francisco today, when it kicks off its five-day Worldwide Developers Conference.
The much-anticipated iPhone 5 could hit the market in the third quarter, Grand Cathay Securities Co (大華投顧) analyst Lisa Chen (陳玫芬) and Credit Suisse analyst Pauline Chen (陳柏齡) said in reports on Thursday.
Taiwanese companies that are part of Apple's supply chain include main assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), casing producers Catcher Technology Co (可成) and Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準), printed circuit board makers Tripod Technology Corp (健鼎) and Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興), as well as handset lens suppliers Largan Precision Co (大立光) and Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光).
Other suppliers include electronics component supplier Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co (正崴), battery makers Simplo Technology Co (新普) and Dynapack International Technology Corp (順達), passive components provider Yageo Corp (國巨), as well as touch-panel makers Wintek Corp (勝華) and TPK Holding Co (宸鴻).
Computex
Meanwhile, suppliers of hardware products unveiled last week at the annual Computex Taipei trade show — especially those equipped with Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system and touch-enabled Ultrabooks using Intel’s processors — are also likely to benefit from the new product cycle in the second half of the year, barring macroeconomic risks, Allianz Global Investors Taiwan Ltd (德盛安聯投信) fund manager Corrina Xiao (蕭惠中) said in a note on Friday.
Computex Taipei, the world’s second-largest information technology fair after CeBIT in Germany, closed on Saturday after attracting 36,500 international buyers and more than 130,000 visitors, according to the event’s co-organizer, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).
TAITRA said buyers from Japan, the US, China and Hong Kong placed the most orders during the five-day show. The semi-official organization said in a statement that it expected this year’s event to generate about US$28.2 billion in business, 11.35 percent higher than last year’s fair.
Shareholders meeting
However, analysts said local stocks could stage a range-bound consolidation in the short term because of a number of uncertainties, including the government's proposed securities capital gains tax, the ongoing eurozone debt crisis and Taiwanese heavyweight companies’ annual general meetings.
For instance, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Cheng Uei will hold their shareholders meetings on Tuesday. Smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) is also expected to face angry shareholders after its cut last week cut second-quarter sales guidance by 13.3 percent.
Then, MediaTek Inc (聯發科), AU Optronics Corp (友達), Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), Catcher Technology and Yageo will take the stage on Wednesday, followed by Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑化) and U-Mine Marine Transport Corp (裕民) on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Acer Inc (宏碁), MStar Semiconductor Inc (晨星), Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (台化), China Steel Corp (中鋼), Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮), Yang Ming Marine Transport Ltd (陽明), Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金) and Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金) will present their business outlook to shareholders on Friday.
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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