Share prices edge lower
Share prices edged lower yesterday, led by losses in large-cap electronics and financial stocks, with the benchmark index falling below the 7,400-point mark at one point.
The benchmark TAIEX ranged between a high of 7,433.68 and a low of 7,392.61 before finishing down 18.14 points, or 0.24 percent, at 7,418.90.
Turnover was NT$46.38 billion (US$1.58 billion), the lowest for any session since May 28, as investors stayed on the sidelines waiting for more companies to report their third-quarter results.
A total of 1,278 stocks closed up, 2,619 finished down and 419 remained unchanged on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Most of the market’s eight major stock categories closed down, with construction shares suffering the heaviest losses at 1.2 percent.
Primasia Securities vice president Wang Chao-li (王兆立) said investors should not be overly pessimistic because the local bourse is unlikely to continue to fall in the near-term, with the TAIEX remaining in correctional mode.
ITRI signs MOU
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSBI) yesterday.
Under the MOU, the two institutes will look to encourage cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises, the ITRI said in a statement.
By working together, South Korea and Taiwan can attain mutual benefits in the highly competitive global market, ITRI said.
Combining the KOSBI’s strength in vertical integration and the ITRI’s expertise in horizontal work distribution and efficient-market strategies, the MOU will benefit both sides, it said.
According to the MOU, the two sides are expected to accredit experts to conduct research, the ITRI said.
Sinopec, ENN drop bid
China’s Sinopec (中國石化) and ENN Energy Holdings (新奧能源控股) said yesterday they have dropped a US$2.2 billion offer for China Gas Holdings (中國燃氣控股), the first hostile bid by a state-owned Chinese business for a private firm.
State-run Sinopec and piped-gas distributor ENN Energy Holdings said they “will not proceed” with the offers made in December last year, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange where they are listed.
The companies said certain preconditions of the acquisition, which include Chinese regulatory approvals, “remain unfulfilled.”
The firms had offered HK$3.50 ($0.45) per China Gas share to buy the private natural gas distributor, an offer China Gas described as failing to “reflect the fundamental value of the company.”
Price reduction may hurt HTC
The drop in price of Samsung’s flagship smartphone during China’s “Golden Week” holiday might hurt HTC (宏達電) sales in the coming months, JPMorgan said in a report on Thursday.
On Sept. 30, Chinese retailers cut the price of the Samsung i9300, which is sold outside of China as the Samsung Galaxy S3, to between 3,750 yuan (US$599) and 3,800 yuan, or three-quarters of its original retail price of 4,999 yuan, the report said.
JPMorgan said the move could cause an annual drop of 65.2 percent in HTC’s earnings per share this year and a decline of 12.4 percent next year.
NT dollar strengthens
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.015 to close at NT$29.345.
Turnover totaled US$645 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
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
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