BANKING
Yuan activity on the rise
Yuan deposits at Taiwanese banks rose 0.48 percent last month to 318.23 billion yuan (US$48.35 billion), after falling for five consecutive months as local investors increased holdings, the latest data released by the central bank showed yesterday. Yuan deposits edged up 0.04 percent to 271.28 billion yuan at domestic banking units and grew 3.12 percent to 46.95 billion yuan at offshore banking units, the data showed. Remittances hit 345.15 billion yuan last month, up 64.19 percent from 210.22 billion yuan in November, as yuan activity tends to be stronger at the end of the year, the central bank said.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Canadian double tax cut
Taiwan and Canada have signed an agreement to prevent the taxation of the same income twice in the two nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. The signing was completed earlier in the day and is likely to take effect on Jan. 1 next year, after the two sides complete the necessary domestic procedures, the ministry said in a statement. The ministry hoped the agreement would help create a friendlier environment for bilateral investment, especially considering the potential for further cooperation in the technology, healthcare, clean energy, sustainable development and services sectors. Canada is Taiwan’s 24th-largest trade partner and 17th-largest export market, while Taiwan is Canada’s 12th-largest trade partner, the ministry said.
BANKING
King’s Town buy-back ends
King’s Town Bank (京城銀行) yesterday said it had completed its latest round of a share buyback scheme, as the Tainan-based medium-sized bank repurchased 12 million common shares on the open market at NT$22.87 per share on average since Dec. 1 last year. The lender’s shares closed down 2.18 percent at NT$20.2 yesterday in Taipei trading. King’s Town Bank reported net profit of NT$3.68 billion for last year, with earnings per share of NT$3.09.
AUTOMAKERS
Flat yearly growth forecast
Teco Electric and Machinery Co (東元電機), the nation’s largest maker of industrial motors, yesterday said the economy might show “flat growth” this year. “We are not too pessimistic about the economy this year, but we cannot be optimistic either,” Teco chairman Theodore Huang (黃茂雄) told reporters ahead a product launch in Taipei, citing the impacts of an economic recovery in the US, a slowdown in China and uncertainty for Europe. Huang did not provide his economic growth forecast this year. Nomura Holdings Inc this week cut its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth to 1.5 percent this year, from its previous estimate of 2.4 percent, leaving Taiwan with one of the region’s weakest growth rates.
OBITUARY
Humble House founder dies
My Humble House Group (寒舍集團) founder Tsai Chen-yang (蔡辰洋), 66, died of a heart attack early yesterday, his family said. The son of Tsai Wan-tsun (蔡萬春), the late founder of the family business group, Tsai Chen-yang founded My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅管理顧問) that operates Le Meridien Taipei, Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, Humble House Taipei and A ROY DEE by Sukhothai and Raku Kitchen restaurants. Tsai Chen-yang was a member of the second generation of one of the nation’s wealthiest families, which run several businesses, including Cathay Financial Group (國泰集團).
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
US President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s US$3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp, citing national security and China-related concerns. In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the US president to believe that it might “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” The order did not name the person or detail Trump’s concerns. “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,”
Garment maker Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue of NT$7.93 billion (US$251.44 million), down 9.48 percent from NT$8.76 billion a year earlier. On a quarterly basis, revenue fell 10.83 percent from NT$8.89 billion, company data showed. The figure was also lower than market expectations of NT$8.05 billion, according to data compiled by Yuanta Securities Investment and Consulting Co (元大投顧), which had projected NT$8.22 billion. Makalot’s revenue this quarter would likely increase by a mid-teens percentage as the industry is entering its high season, Yuanta said. Overall, Makalot’s revenue last year totaled NT$34.43 billion, down 3.08 percent from its record NT$35.52