TAIEX posts limited gains
The TAIEX posted limited gains on profit-taking yesterday after the benchmark index moved closer to the nearest technical resistance level of 7,200 points, dealers said.
The financial sector and select old-economy stocks attracted buying during the session, offsetting the weakness of electronics heavyweights such as smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) and handheld device camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光), dealers said.
Small-cap stocks, in particular companies that launched primary listings in Taiwan, staged a rebound after a slump in the previous session.
These stocks suffered heavy selling on Monday amid local media reports that the government’s Labor Insurance and Labor Pension funds had instructed discretionary account managers not to buy volatile small-cap stocks, so as to avoid losses.
The weighted index closed up 16.73 points, or 0.23 percent, at 7,145.77. Turnover totaled NT$50.96 billion (US$1.75 billion).
Rexchip repays loan
Rexchip Electronics Corp (瑞晶), a joint venture between Taiwanese DRAM chipmaker Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶) and Japan-based Elpida Memory Inc, said it had repaid NT$2.6 billion in bank loans that were due yesterday.
The NT$2.6 billion is the last part of a syndicated loan of NT$39 billion led by Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Rexchip spokesperson Stephen Chen (陳正坤) said in a statement submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp.
The Houli (后里), Greater Taichung-based company must still repay a syndicated loan of NT$3.9 billion from the Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) by the end of next year.
Lenovo to expand in Taiwan
Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) said yesterday it expects to expand its presence in Taiwan next year thanks to continued growth in both commercial and consumer PC markets.
Justin Liang (梁百鋒), general manager of Lenovo’s Taiwan branch, said the company’s sales of desktop and notebook PCs in Taiwan are expected to grow at a “double-digit rate” next year, without giving any specific numbers.
The company will continue to deepen its relationship with Taiwan’s large corporate customers, expand its business in the small and medium-enterprise sector, and set up more retail locations in the country through partnerships with distributors, Liang said at a news conference.
Taipower plans overhaul
State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said on Monday it will be able to create NT$6.2 billion in extra revenue and cut NT$43.8 billion in costs in the next five years, as part of a plan to overhaul its operations.
The extra revenue is set to be created through the expansion of the company’s capacity, more flexible use of its land, the cancellation of cheaper electricity rates for employees, among other measures, Taipower said in a report in the legislature.
The reduction in costs will be achieved by actions such as seeking cheaper prices for electricity purchased from private power plants and increasing renewable energy generation. In addition, Taipower said it would reduce compensation for retirees who move on to high-ranking positions and reduce employee benefits.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.057 to close at NT$29.145 as traders took cues from the strength of other currencies in the region to buy into the local unit, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$471 million during the trading session.
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
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day