EQUITIES
No impact from REITs: FSC
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday said that local investors would not be affected by the growing list of UK property funds that has been suspended from trading since the country’s referendum to leave the EU. The commission said these UK-linked real-estate investment trusts (REIT) are not listed in Taiwan and regulatory guidelines prohibit the sale of offshore funds investing in high-risk areas, including real estate, gold and other commodities. While the securitized REITs pose less of a concern to local investors, investment trusts and funds that buy UK properties could be in trouble, as the disposal of real estate requires a lengthy process, the commission said.
INTEREST RATES
Central bank cuts interest
The central bank said it has slashed the interest it pays financial institutions on reserves that originate from passbook and time deposits to reflect market interest rates. The central bank is to pay an interest rate of 0.146 percent on reserves from passbook deposits and 0.82 percent on reserves from time deposits, effective today, it said in a statement. The new rates represent reductions of 0.186 percent and 0.898 percent respectively. Interest is paid to financial institutions’ B accounts, which constitute 55 percent of their reserves, while the central bank does not pay interest on A accounts, which make up the remainder.
AUTOMAKERS
Sanyang eyes 25% share
Automobile and motorcycle manufacturer Sanyang Industry Co (三陽工業), which yesterday launched its new Mio 115 scooter, aims to capture 25 percent of the domestic motorcycle market this year. The company, which sells motorcycles and scooters under the SYM brand, hopes the new NT$55,000 (US$1,702) scooter will boost sales in the second half of this year. The company said it is also targeting a 30 percent share of the local passenger vehicle market. Total sales in the first five months of the year totaled NT$12.89 billion, down by 9.86 percent from the same period a year ago.
CEMENT
TCC annual loss forecast
Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) yesterday said its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團), might report an annual loss in the first half because of falling average selling prices of cement, clinker and slag powder in China. Depreciation of the yuan could also cause potential foreign exchange losses in TCC’s US dollar-denominated bank loans, Taiwan Cement said, citing TCC’s profit warning to Hong Kong’s bourse. TCC net profit totaled HK$81.1 million (US$10.45 million at the current exchange rate) in the first six months of last year, with a net loss of HK$249 million for the whole of last year.
ELECTRONICS
Synnex sales rise 14 percent
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強國際) yesterday said consolidated sales in the second quarter rose 14 percent from a year earlier to NT$83.5 billion, after last month’s sales recorded strong annual growth of 16 percent. Asia’s largest distributor of technology products and electronics components said overall sales in the first half totaled NT$161 billion, up by 12 percent from the same period last year and setting a new record high. The company expects strong sales for the whole of this year, Synnex said.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI