MANUFACTURING
SEMI sees stable recovery
The book-to-bill ratio for US-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers fell to 1.05 last month from a month earlier, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) said yesterday. It was the third consecutive month the ratio reached more than one, indicating a stable recovery for the international semiconductor industry, SEMI said. Last month’s ratio of 1.05 was lower than 1.07 in January.
FINANCE
Chailease sets dividend
Chailease Holding Co Ltd (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing services provider, has proposed to pay a cash dividend of NT$3.1 per share, after earnings per share rose to NT$6.02 last year from NT$5.09 in 2014. Dividend yield was 5.56 percent based on yesterday’s share price of NT$56.1, but the dividend payout for last year was lower than the NT$3.2 per share it distributed in the previous year. Chailease has set a shareholders’ meeting on Sunday next week to approve the proposal.
ECONOMY
Market optimism growing
Public confidence in the nation’s stock market and economic prospects are growing optimistic faster this month than last month, despite still-discouraging economic indicators released by the government lately, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said yesterday. Public confidence in the economy has been rising since September last year, while sentiments on the stock market has reached the highest in eight months, the company said, citing a survey released yesterday.
BANKING
Chang Hwa to raise capital
State-run Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd (CHB, 彰化銀行) is planning to increase its capitalization, despite opposition from its largest shareholder, Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控). Chang Hwa said its board has agreed to increase its paid-in capital from NT$90 billion to NT$110 billion (US$2.8 billion to US$33.8 billion) to improve its credit metrics. Taishin Financial owns a 22.5 percent stake in Chang Hwa Bank and has been tussling with the government over the management control in Chang Hwa Bank in recent years.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Win to optimize metrics
Win Semiconductors Corp (穩懋半導體) on Thursday announced plans to reduce capital by NT$1.79 billion, or 30 percent, and to distribute a cash dividend of NT$0.5, which are subject to approval at the company’s annual general meeting scheduled for June 24. Overall, shareholders would receive NT$3.5 per share, the company said. Daiwa Capital Markets Inc said in a note yesterday that the move would help optimize the company’s profitability metrics, such as return on equity and return on invested capital.
INDUSTRY
Giga sees clear orders
Solar material producer Giga Solar Materials Corp (碩禾電子) on Thursday said the company’s board has proposed a cash dividend of NT$20 per share, the highest in four years. Based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$39.65, the company’s dividend payout ratio is about 50.4 percent. Giga Solar’s business focuses on photovoltaic conductive pastes for solar cells. The company said it has seen clear order visibility for front-side silver paste, rear-side silver paste and aluminum paste since last quarter and might consider capacity expansion to meet client demand.
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