An Asia-based brokerage trimmed its forecast for the Taiwan stock exchange’s benchmark index, the TAIEX, from 9,000 to 8,800 points next year, citing concerns that a possible shift in the China policy of a new government might hurt the nation’s competitiveness.
The government to be formed next year might not adopt an open-door policy toward cross-strait engagements and investment projects, which could negatively affect the competitiveness of Taiwanese businesses and the nation’s opportunities to participate in regional economic integration, the anonymous brokerage said in a research report on trading strategies for Taiwan’s stock market.
In addition, indications of a poor outlook for the technology industry going forward have also prompted it to revise its forecast for the stock market downward, the brokerage said.
If the new administration is hesitant to adopt a more open-door policy toward cross-strait investment projects, this could not only affect Taiwanese companies’ competitiveness, but also hurt Taiwan’s chances of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreements, the brokerage said.
The government also might not lift a ban on Chinese companies investing in Taiwanese semiconductor companies, the report said.
The brokerage is generally upbeat about the automotive, unmanned aerial vehicle, Internet of Things and e-commerce industries next year, the report indicated.
Asian markets closed up last week after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade.
Taiwan emerged as the most attractive market for foreign investors this year, attracting foreign capital of more than US$3.2 billion.
The US interest rate hike signals an ongoing recovery of the US economy and increasing confidence in the labor market, JP Morgan Asset Management (摩根投信) fund manager James Yeh (葉鴻儒) said, adding that Taiwanese companies relying on exports to the US are expected to benefit from the improving US economy.
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