With the TAIEX having risen 6 percent since the beginning of the year, equity strategists at HSBC Securities Taiwan Corp predict that technology shares are likely to continue outperforming their non-technology peers in the second half of the year.
In their latest market strategy report, HSBC analysts Jenny Lai (賴惠娟) and Bruce Warden said that local technology shares are set to benefit from the new product cycle in the coming months.
The cycle is expected to include Apple Inc’s latest iPhone model, new hybrid devices from computer companies and telecom vendors’ launches of smartphones equipped with 4G, or long-term evolution, wireless technology, HSBC said on Friday.
The tech sector is also set to benefit from the stabilization of sectors previously hit by weak demand, including the PC industry, and price hikes in other sectors, such as memory chips and flat panels, the brokerage said.
Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect technology companies to see their combined revenues for the second half of the year increase by 22 percent from the first half, which HSBC said would constitute “more aggressive” growth than average since the global financial crisis erupted in 2009.
Investors should also pay attention to non-technology shares of firms that are to launch new products and unveil expansion plans, but they must be cautious about financial and property stocks ahead of the seven-in-one elections for municipalities, counties and townships in November, as the polls could spur the government to introduce policies emphasizing social fairness over economic growth, HSBC said.
“The use of policy tools — especially by increasing taxes targeting financial institutions and property owners — could hurt sentiment in the financial and property sectors,” the brokerage said.
In addition, if the Legislative Yuan does not approve the cross-strait service trade agreement, the financial industry would be denied a new sector-wide catalyst, it added.
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],”
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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