TAIEX slips on US fiscal fears
The TAIEX edged lower yesterday as investors remained cautious because of the looming US fiscal cliff and the recent strength of the New Taiwan dollar, which could hurt local exporters, dealers said.
The weighted index ranged between a high of 7,307.59 and a low of 7,264.02 before finishing down 25.47 points, or 0.35 percent, at 7,267.75 on turnover of NT$59.79 billion (US$2.06 billion).
A total of 1,600 stocks closed up, 2,504 finished down and 436 remained unchanged.
Yani Tseng promotes Taiwan
Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), the world’s top-ranked female golfer, is appearing in a commercial promoting Taiwanese products that is being shown on international flights and in New York, according to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會).
Part of a campaign to boost Taiwan’s exports, the commercial has been shown on a huge electronic billboard in New York’s Times Square since Oct. 1, and will run for 12 consecutive weeks, TAITRA said in a statement yesterday.
It is also being shown on the flights of several airlines, such as Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, China Airlines (CAL, 中華航空) and EVA Airways (EVA, 長榮航空), TAITRA said.
Nation may miss tax target
Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) yesterday said that tax revenue may fail to hit the government’s target of NT$1.823 trillion this year, with a shortfall of about NT$10 billion.
Revenue from securities transactions taxes may cause a shortfall of NT$50 billion following sluggish trading on the local bourse, Chang said, adding that the shortfall may be offset by the contribution from consolidated income tax, which is expected to generate an additional NT$50 billion tax revenue from the government’s original target.
However, Chang said that “Taiwan did not have a fiscal cliff” like the US in a legislative question-and-answer session.
In related news, Chang said the Ministry of Finance has asked state-owned banks to inspect their staffing and businesses involved in securities investment departments within two weeks to strengthen risk management.
EVA in NT$82m aircraft sale
EVA Airways, the nation’s second-largest carrier, yesterday announced in a stock exchange filing that it has earned NT$82 million by selling a Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft.
EVA announced in September it would sell two Boeing 747-400 Combi aircraft with a price tag of about US$16.5 million. The gains from disposing the other plane are still under review.
The sale is part of the carrier’s fleet upgrade plan and would help the airline save on costs and maintain profitability under the current sluggish performance of the aviation cargo sector and high fuel prices, the company said.
Foxconn denies riot reports
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) yesterday denied reports that a riot broke out at a plant in southern China on Friday.
A China-based online media outlet reported earlier yesterday that more than 1,000 workers at Foxconn’s factory in Shenzhen staged a protest after a dispute occurred between a Foxconn employee and public security officers.
The company said in a statement that two policemen got into a dispute with some Foxconn employees at an apartment outside the factory area after receiving information that people were gambling in the apartment complex.
A crowd of more than 200 Foxconn workers gathered to watch the disturbance, but police authorities quickly calmed the situation down and the two sides eventually resolved the matter peacefully, the statement said.
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
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
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