TAIEX takes tumble
The TAIEX fell below the 8,000 point mark yesterday as investors pocketed the gains they had built up in recent sessions in the financial sector, dealers said.
The high-tech sector remained lackluster amid lingering concerns over the slow season effects in the first quarter, while old economy stocks, in particular firms that have close business ties with China, came under pressure due to a pullback in the markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 44.01 points, or 0.55 percent, at 7,994.71, on turnover of NT$90.32 billion (US$3.04 billion).
New HTC device approved
A new mobile device made by HTC Corp (宏達電) was approved for sale on Monday by the National Communications Commission.
The 3G mobile handset named “HTC Desire P” was approved following product testing by Sporton International Inc, a Taipei-based certification service provider. No hardware specifications or pictures of the new device were supplied and HTC declined to comment.
Merida reports revenue growth
Bicycle maker Merida Industry Co Ltd (美利達) said yesterday its revenue grew 13.3 percent year-on-year to NT$3.34 billion from January through last month, from NT$2.95 billion a year ago.
Merida said sales grew most significantly in China, by 20 percent, because of strong demand for its high-end bicycles.
The company forecast bicycle demand would rise further from this month as the weather becomes warmer.
Project set to aid manufacturers
Taiwanese manufacturers that produce chips, light-emitting diode (LED) components, power supplies or heat sinks will benefit from the country’s two-year streetlight energy saving project, according to a market research firm.
Leotek Electronics Corp (光林), Everlight Electronics Co (億光), Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) and Leadray Energy Co (賀喜) are expected to benefit the most from the project, LEDinside said in a research note.
The government plans to replace 326,000 mercury vapor bulbs with LED fixtures this year and next, a conversion that the Bureau of Energy estimates will save 143 million kilowatt-hours of power and NT$358 million in electricity bills per year.
The project is expected to generate NT$4.48 billion in additional business for LED-related vendors, the bureau said.
Airline to suspend service
A South Korean budget airline is scheduled to suspend its service to Taiwan next month after less than a year, the carrier’s local agent announced on Monday.
Taiwan Orchid Express said it had received notice from Jin Air’s headquarters that it was temporarily suspending services. The last Jin Air flight serving Taiwan will arrive on April 21 and return to Jeju Island the following day.
Jin Air launched regular flights between Jeju and Taipei on June 6 last year, offering four flights per week.
FTC to start Next Media review
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday it would start reviewing the buyout application for Next Media Group (壹傳媒集團) and aims to complete the review process by April 6. The commission said it could extend the period to May 6 if it considers it necessary. However, based on the buyout terms, investors can cancel the deal if the transaction cannot be completed by March 27.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar closed higher against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.01 to NT$29.730.
Turnover totaled US$374 million during the trading session.
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
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
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],”