TAIEX stages rebound
The TAIEX staged a technical rebound yesterday after investors were given a jolt of confidence by a report showing improved manufacturing activity in the US last month, dealers said.
Buying returned to companies in the Apple supply chain on hopes that the launch of the iPhone 5 will boost shipments, with interest then spreading to other high-priced high-tech stocks to give the broader market a boost, they said.
The weighted index closed up 42.46 points, or 0.56 percent, at 7,718.68, after moving between 7,683.03 and 7,726.61 on turnover of NT$63.07 billion (US$2.15 billion).
Mega banned from investments
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday banned state-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) from making new investments for six months for its failure to sell its stake in Taiwan Business Bank (TBB, 臺灣企銀) or come up with a divestment plan.
Mega Financial owns a 13.4 percent stake in TBB and had indicated plans to sell the shares by June this year.
The FSC said the ban is to remain in place until Mega Financial makes amends.
The FSC also fined Jih Sun Securities Co (日盛證券) NT$2 million for failing to win board approval before trading structured products as required by law.
German firm opens new plant
Heraeus Holding, a German technology group, opened a manufacturing plant in Taoyuan yesterday, aiming to provide a faster service to the local market.
The new facility, operated through the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit, seeks to offer Taiwanese customers more technical backup and customized services, Tobias Caspari, general manager for photovoltaics in Asia, said at the opening ceremony in Taoyuan.
Heraeus, a major maker of metallization paste for the photovoltaic industry, accounts for about 40 percent of the world market and has a share of 50 to 60 percent in Taiwan, Caspari said.
Heraeus set up an office in Taiwan in 2002, began shipping to the country in 2008 and set up a technical service center in 2010.
Chunghwa plans cloud bids
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecoms operator, on Monday said that it plans to bid for the government’s cloud infrastructure projects, despite macroeconomic uncertainties.
Chung Fu-kuei (鍾福貴), president of Chunghwa Telecom’s data communication business group, said that the company plans to bid for the government projects announced last month for public cloud applications.
Taiwan expo attracts crowds
A five-day exhibition in Guangzhou, China, to demonstrate Taiwan-made products received about 165,000 visitors in the first two days of the fair, the organizers said, adding that the number of visitors this year is set to surpass the 300,000 recorded last year.
A total of 52 Taiwanese companies have a presence at the annual event which began on Saturday and is set to run through today, Taiwan External Trade Development Council officials said yesterday.
They include smartphone supplier HTC Corp (宏達電) and computer vendors Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦).
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.017 to close at NT$29.385.
Turnover totaled US$685 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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last