MSCI index adjustments
The latest quarterly index adjustments made by global index provider MSCI Inc went into effect after Taiwan’s stock market closed yesterday, but the changes were minor and would have less impact on local share prices, dealers said.
Earlier this month, MSCI announced the index adjustments after a quarterly review, lowering Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index to 12 percent from 12.07 percent and its weighting in the MSCI All Country Asia Index ex-Japan to 15.75 percent from 15.79 percent.
However, the nation’s weighting in the MSCI All Country World Index was raised to 1.34 percent from 1.33 percent after the index review.
Incubation raises forecast
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) expects the number of small businesses registered on the local incubation board to hit 300 in four years.
The GRETAI Securities Market (GTSM) introduced the incubation board in early January. A company eligible to raise funds on the incubation board should be capitalized at no more than NT$50 million (US$1.67 million).
So far, 29 small companies have been registered on the incubation board, most of which are in the electronics and biotech sectors, the GTSM’s data showed.
Outstanding loans increase
Outstanding loans extended by 37 banks registered in Taiwan to small and medium-sized companies increased by NT$204.6 billion during the first seven months of the year, achieving 85.27 percent of the government’s target of an increase of NT$240 billion for this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
The commission said the loans to small and medium-sized companies accounted for 54.34 percent of the total bank loans to the local business sector at the end of last month.
Jih Sun opens Hong Kong office
Jih Sun International Bank (日盛銀行) opened a representative office in Hong Kong yesterday, establishing its first overseas foothold.
The bank said its Hong Kong presence is expected to boost its visibility in the Greater China market and provide better services to its clients in China and Hong Kong.
The lender posted NT$697.06 million in net profit for the first six months of the year, up from NT$691.51 million a year earlier, with earnings per share of NT$0.44.
Notebooks outsell tablets
Tablet computers are likely to see an annual decline in global shipments this year for the first time, as their novelty seems to have worn off and prices have bottomed out, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a research note earlier this week.
Tablet shipments are expected to drop by an annual 1.8 percent this year to 153 million units globally, as low-priced notebooks are stealing tablet market share, TrendForce said, predicting that global laptop computer shipments would increase 1 percent annually to 171 million units this year.
Online shopping keeps growing
Online shopping is expected to sustain its rapid growth over the next few years as more stores offer even more items on the Internet, PChome Store Inc (商店街市集) said yesterday.
The PChome platform now lists 17,418 stores offering nearly 20.1 million items, up nearly 10 percent from 15,931 stores providing 12.6 million items at the end of last year.
The company said consolidated revenues grew 49.25 percent in the first seven months of the year to NT$550.26 million.
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