TAIEX loses ground
The TAIEX lost ground yesterday as selling focused on local suppliers to Apple Inc after it was reported that the US electronics giant had cut back orders for its iPhone 5 panels, dealers said.
The weakness of the so-call “Apple concept stocks” also drove investors to dump other large-cap electronics stocks amid concerns over a rising New Taiwan dollar, which could affect the high-tech sector’s profitability, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 58.95 points, or 0.75 percent, at 7,765.02, on turnover of NT$91.39 billion (US$3.15 billion).
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), which generates about 40 percent of its contract manufacturing services from Apple, closed down 3.44 percent at NT$84.20. Metal casing maker Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準) fell 3.16 percent to end at NT$85.80 and its rival, Catcher Technology Co (可成), lost 3.38 percent to close at NT$128.50. Smartphone camera lens manufacturer Genius Electronic Optical Co (玉晶光) shed 2.18 percent to end at NT$201.50.
Profits fall at garment firm
Tainan Enterprise Co (台南企業) yesterday said its net profit fell 52.44 percent from a year ago to NT$267.38 million last year, or earnings per share of NT$1.82, due to losses at garment brands in China.
Last year, the company reported losses of NT$121.25 million from its investment in Tainan Enterprise (Cayman) Co, which is focused at developing Tony Wear and Emely brand businesses in China.
Consolidated revenue reached NT$895.55 billion last year, down 26.04 percent from 2011, Tainan Enterprise said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Sony eyes smartphone segment
Sony Mobile Communications International AB, the handset unit of Japan’s Sony Corp, said on Monday that it will focus on its premium smartphone segment in Taiwan this year, in a bid to boost its market share.
The company was confident of becoming Taiwan’s second-largest smartphone vendor based on revenue this year, moving a spot higher from last year, Sony Mobile Taiwan general manager Jonathan Lin (林志遠) said.
“We will stress the premium market this year,” Lin said at the launch of the Sony Xperia Z flagship phone.
He added that high-end smartphones were selling better in Taiwan than most other countries.
Lin estimated that the total revenue generated by smartphone vendors in Taiwan would reach NT$56 billion a year, based on estimated annual shipments of 7 million units and an average selling price of NT$8,000.
China Mobile boss to visit
China Mobile Ltd (中國移動通信) chief executive officer Li Yue (李躍) is scheduled to visit Taipei this week for a summit on cooperation in 4G technology.
Li will participate tomorrow’s summit held by China Mobile and Taiwan’s state-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute, giving a talk on cross-strait cooperation on mobile broadband services on the Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum.
During his visit, Li will meet several of Taiwan’s technology tycoons, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), HTC Corp (宏達電) chairwoman Cher Wang (王雪紅) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介).
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.002 to close at NT$29.056.
Turnover totaled US$664 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