TECHNOLOGY
Hon Hai moves into cars
Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團), the operator of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) — which makes iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc — yesterday said it has signed an agreement with Chinese Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) and China Harmony Auto Holding (中國和諧汽車) to team up on producing electric cars in China and developing Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Under the terms of the agreement, the companies would form a team to design and manufacture electric cars in China’s Henan Province. In December last year, Hon Hai gained a 12 percent share of China Harmony Auto for HK$608 million (US$78.4 million). China Harmony focuses mainly on high-end luxury and super-luxury brands and aims to become China’s first luxury-only auto dealer. It has 46 outlets and after-sales service centers across China, including in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Xiamen, Wuhan and Xian.
CHIPMAKERS
ADATA posts NT$112m loss
DRAM module maker ADATA Technology Co (威剛) yesterday posted a quarterly net loss of NT$112 million (US$3.56 million) for the final quarter of last year after booking massive inventory losses. That brought the company’s total net profit last year to NT$808 million, or NT$3.52 per share. The figure represents a 59.4 percent decline from the net profit of NT$1.99 billion, or NT$9.08 per share, ADATA recorded in 2013. The company’s board yesterday approved a plan to distribute a cash dividend of NT$2.5 per share based on last year’s net profit — a 71 percent payout ratio. The company is scheduled to discuss cash dividend distribution during an annual shareholders’ meeting on June 9.
SOLAR PANELS
E-Ton improves loss
Solar cell maker E-Ton Solar Co (益通光能) yesterday posted a narrowed loss of NT$811 million for last year on the back of recovering demand. That marked the sixth consecutive year of losses for the Tainan-based company. In 2013, E-Ton lost NT$1.58 billion. Revenue surged 36 percent to NT$4.452 billion last year, compared with NT$3.268 billion a year ago.
BANKING
E.Sun’s foreign plans passed
E. Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) has obtained the green light to set up new operations in China and Vietnam. The parent company of the bank, E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), announced in a statement released on Friday that the China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved its plan to set up a subsidiary and a new branch in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. According to the bank, its Chinese subsidiary is to be established in Shenzhen’s Qianhai area and will have 2 billion yuan (US$321.92 million) available in capital, while its new branch is to be opened in Futian District in the next six months. E.Sun said the new operations in Shenzhen would allow it to better tap into opportunities created by China’s Silk Road economic belt and maritime Silk Road initiatives, in which the southern city is strategically located. The bank currently operates a branch and a sub-branch in Dongguan, and also in Guangdong, according to its Web site. The bank announced on Sunday that the Vietnamese central bank has approved its plan to set up a branch in Dong Nai Province, which is expected to open by the end of this year. The bank said Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam, where many Taiwanese businesses have operations, is a key market.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
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