CURRENCY
NT dollar hits four-year low
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday slumped to a four-year low on concerns that foreign investors might sell local assets as the US Federal Reserve moves closer to raising interest rates. Global funds sold US$1.1 billion more Taiwanese shares than they bought last week, the biggest outflow since September, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0.9 percent last week to the highest level since 2009, as the Fed indicated it is on track to raise borrowing costs early next year, a move that would reduce the appeal of emerging-market assets. “There is some money leaving Taiwan,” said Tarsicio Tong (湯健揚) , a currency trader at Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) in Taipei. “Asian emerging markets are facing pressure of outflows now as the US is expected to raise rates. The greenback is very strong.” The NT dollar weakened 0.4 percent to NT$31.59 against its US counterpart, the lowest level since September 2010, prices from Taipei Forex Inc showed. One-month non-deliverable forwards fell 0.2 percent to NT$31.57, data complied by Bloomberg showed.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC denies China fab plan
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chip maker, dismissed a newspaper report yesterday that it might set up a 12-inch silicon wafer plant in China soon. The company has no such plans at the moment, a spokesman said. In a front-page story, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News said that TSMC has listed as an option for the first time the establishment of a 12-inch fab in China, which could be set up in 2016 at the earliest.
AVIATION
JAL serves pineapple cakes
Taiwanese pineapple cakes have become a favorite of many Japanese tourists, so much so that Japan Airlines is serving them on some of its flights for a three-week trial period. Hwang Chao-ming (黃兆銘), an executive with Japan Airlines Ltd’s (JAL) branch in Taipei, said on Thursday last week that running through Jan. 10, passengers on JAL flights leaving from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (excluding code-sharing flights) would be served SunnyHills’ (微熱山丘) pineapple cakes. The airline decided to serve the popular treat on its Japan-bound flights due to repeated inquiries from passengers, Hwang said. The SunnyHill-brand pineapple cakes have developed a strong following in Japan since late last year, and many passengers have asked JAL where they could purchase them, he said.
Pharmaceuticals
Kunhwa buys Dream shares
Generic drug maker Lotus Pharmaceutical Co (美時化學製藥) yesterday said that its South Korean subsidiary, Kunwha Pharmaceutical Co, acquired 100 percent of South Korea-based Dream Pharma Ltd shares on Friday last week for US$174 million. Dream Pharma sells weight-loss drugs. The acquisition would strengthen Kunwha’s retail routes in South Korea and increase Kunwha’s product portfolio, Lotus said, adding that US-based generic drug maker Alvogen Inc, the parent company of Lotus, would sell products of the two South Korea-based companies to Taiwan and also other Asian markets using Alvogen’s global networks.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure