TAIEX continues momentum
The TAIEX continued momentum yesterday from a session earlier as turnover expanded to more than NT$120 billion (US$4.1 billion) with more investors willing to trade, dealers said.
The electronics sector led the upside as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) attracted strong buying, while other high-tech heavyweights, such as flat-panel makers Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) and AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), posted gains on hopes of improved bottom lines, they said.
The weighted index closed up 76.62 points, or 1.02 percent, at 7,580.17, on turnover of NT$122.79 billion. For the week, the main board gained 3.47 percent to hit a high since Oct. 9, when the index closed at 7,592.01, as select high-tech stocks kept moving ahead throughout the week.
TSMC rose 2.28 percent to NT$98.70, Chimei Innolux gained 4.42 percent to close at NT$13.00, while rival AUO added 3.35 percent to end at NT$12.35.
GTSM spurs buyback programs
The GRETAI Securities Market (GTSM) said yesterday it has encouraged listed companies on the over-the-counter (OTC) market to launch share buyback programs in a bid to shore up investor confidence.
The GTSM, which operates the local OTC and emerging stock markets, said the OTC-listed firms which have sufficient funds on hand should consider coming up with share repurchasing plans to strengthen shareholder equity and boost shareholders’ faith in companies.
So far this year, OTC-listed companies have started 87 share buyback programs. Among the repurchasing plans, 58 have been completed, buying back NT$2.62 billion (US$90.03 million) worth of shares from the open market.
The remaining 29 buyback programs are still under way, which are expected to acquire shares worth NT$2.31 billion, according to the GTSM.
Meanwhile, the GTSM said a total of 83 OTC-listed firms reported more than NT$3 in earnings per share (EPS) for the first nine months of this year, accounting for almost 15 percent of the 627 companies trading in the OTC market.
New plant to create 1,000 jobs
King Yuan Electronics Co (京元電子), a Taiwan-based integrated circuit testing service provider, said yesterday its plan to build a new plant in an industrial park in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) is expected to create about 1,000 jobs.
King Yuan will invest NT$1 billion (US$34.36 million) in the new production base, which is scheduled to break ground on Dec. 10. Construction of the plant is expected to be completed by the end of next year. The plant will focus on testing services for mobile communications chips.
King Yuan has about 4,000 employees, operating four plants in Taiwan and several sales offices in China, Europe, Japan, Singapore and North America.
The company said that with IC production on the rise, capacity of its four plants has been fully booked and the new plant will help the company meet rising demand.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.031 to close at NT$29.116 as strong foreign institutional buying in the local bourse boosted demand for the currency, dealers said.
The strength of other regional currencies also encouraged traders to raise their holdings in NT dollar as they grew upbeat about the region’s economy based on an improvement in Japan’s industrial output, they said.
Turnover totaled US$811 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