Oil prices drag TAIEX down
The TAIEX suffered an extended decline yesterday as investors remained cautious about the global economy after international crude oil prices fell below US$80 per barrel for the first time since early October last year on weakening demand, dealers said.
While large-cap petrochemical stocks encountered heavy selling amid concerns over their profitability on the falling oil prices, the financial sector came under pressure after Moody’s downgraded its credit ratings of 15 financial institutions around the world, they said.
The weighted index closed down 57 points, or 0.78 percent, at 7,222.05, on turnover of NT$56.17 billion (US$1.88 billion).
Income tax revenues rise
The government’s income tax revenues for last year amounted to NT$313.7 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of NT$42.2 billion or 15.5 percent, the Ministry of Finance reported on Thursday.
During the same period, individual income tax revenues rose to NT$89.2 billion, an increase of NT$43.6 billion or 95.6 percent from 2010, according to ministry statistics. The huge increase in personal income tax revenues could be attributed mainly to the recovery of the domestic economy, the ministry said.
However, on the corporate income tax front, the revenues registered NT$224.5 billion last year, a decrease of NT$1.4 billion or 0.6 percent from last year, the statistics showed.
Chimei seeks cooperation
Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) chairman Tuan Hsing-chien (段行建) said the company was willing to work with Chinese TV brands to penetrate emerging markets outside China.
Tuan made the remark after a meeting on Thursday with Bai Weimin (白為民), deputy director of the China Video Industry Association, who is heading a delegation composed of representatives from major Chinese TV manufacturers.
Hotai vows to maintain lead
Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), a local agent of Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp, vowed on Thursday to maintain its leadership in Taiwan although the local market is showing signs of weakening.
In the company’s annual general meeting, Hotai Motor chairman Huang Nan-guang (黃南光) said he expects his company to expand its market share this year with the launch of new models, including a hybrid car.
Hotai Motor has set a goal of a 34 percent market share in Taiwan for this year, up from 31.6 percent last year, Huang said
Last year, the company sold 119,425 cars in Taiwan. The company expects overall auto sales nationwide to drop 4.7 percent this year to 360,000 units.
Uni-President optimistic
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) yesterday said it was optimistic about the growth of the food industry in the next decade and will increase its investments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Company president Alex Lo (羅智先) told a shareholders’ meeting that the expansion plan had been in effect since last year and is expected to peak over the next two years.
Uni-President will construct 17 new plants in China, which are expected to be completed over the next two years, and continue its expansion in Southeast Asia, Lo said.
Its unconsolidated revenue rose 5.9 percent to NT$51.8 billion last year, while net income fell 13.6 percent to NT$9.4 billion, with earnings per share of NT$2.08.
NT dollar slips
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.066 to close at NT$29.968. Turnover totaled US$768 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
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six