INVESTMENTS
Formosa sells Nanya shares
Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), the nation’s biggest producer of polyvinyl chloride, yesterday said it had sold 3.82 million shares in local DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) for about NT$310 million (US$9.78 million). Formosa booked a gain of NT$160 million from the sale, according to a company statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The proceeds are to be used to fund the company’s operations. After the transaction, Formosa’s stake in Nanya Technology was down to 15.32 percent from 15.48 percent.
COMPONENTS
Yageo profit jumps 86%
Yageo Corp (國巨), the nation’s biggest passive components maker, yesterday said that net profit jumped 86 percent annually to NT$790 million in the final quarter of last year from NT$425 million in 2013. That brought the company’s total net profit last year to NT$3.86 billion, 2.66 times the NT$1.45 billion it made the previous year. Revenue rose 9.3 percent last year to NT$27.03 billion from NT$24.74 billion in 2013. Yageo expects demand for passive components to grow steadily, mainly driven by rising demand for 4G long-term evolution smartphones, LED lighting and automotive electronics components, according to a company statement.
TOURISM
Fair to attract more visitors
An upcoming travel fair in Taipei is expected to attract a record number of visitors based on what tourism operators see as a generally healthy travel market that is likely to continue to grow this year. The annual International Spring Travel Fair to be held at the Taipei World Trade Center’s Hall No. 1 from March 26 to March 29 could draw a record-high 220,000 visitors, about 10,000 more than last year, event organizer Chou Tsen (周岑) said yesterday. Because there are several long holiday weekends ahead, travel to Asian nations could be particularly in demand, Chou said. “We are expecting a diverse travel market customer base this spring covering all age groups,” Chou said, tipping Japan, Bali and South Korea to be the top travel destinations. Featuring about 300 exhibitors, the fair is expected to generate more business this year than the NT$550 million in sales last year, she said.
CHIP SERVICES
Powertech approves payout
Powertech Technology Inc (力成), which provides memorychip packaging and testing services, yesterday said its board had approved a NT$3 per share cash dividend. That represents a 70.76 percent in payout ratio based on the company’s net profit of NT$4.43 billion, or NT$4.24 a share, last year. The company is scheduled to hold an annual shareholders’ meeting on June 16 to gain approval to distribute the dividend.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NT dollar closes lower
The New Taiwan dollar dropped against its US counterpart yesterday, closing down NT$0.040 at NT$31.710 as traders were motivated by institutional selling on the local bourse to trim their earlier gains in the local currency and vault the greenback into positive territory, dealers said. The central bank’s intervention also helped the US dollar in the late trading, offsetting selling by exporters earlier in the session, the dealers said. Trading volume on the foreign exchange markets remained moderate, as many traders stayed on the sidelines ahead of a policymaking meeting scheduled by the US Federal Reserve for Tuesday and Wednesday next week, the dealers added.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
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The global server market is expected to grow 12.8 percent annually this year, with artificial intelligence (AI) servers projected to account for 16.5 percent, driven by continued investment in AI infrastructure by major cloud service providers (CSPs), market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. Global AI server shipments this year are expected to increase 28 percent year-on-year to more than 2.7 million units, driven by sustained demand from CSPs and government sovereign cloud projects, TrendForce analyst Frank Kung (龔明德) told the Taipei Times. Demand for GPU-based AI servers, including Nvidia Corp’s GB and Vera Rubin rack systems, is expected to remain high,
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