STOCK EXCHANGE
THSRC to go under review
Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE, 臺灣證券交易所) is to review a listing plan submitted by Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) today, the stock exchange operator said in a statement released yesterday. THSRC, which plans to shift to the main bourse from the Emerging Stock Market by the end of this year, has capital of NT$56.05 billion (US$1.75 billion). The high-speed rail operator reported a net profit of NT$20.82 billion last year, with earnings per share of NT$7.19. Last year’s revenue was NT$51.9 billion, up from NT$38.5 billion the previous year, company data showed.
STOCK EXCHANGE
TSMC’s value at record high
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) jumped 1.18 percent yesterday to NT$172, boosting the company’s market value to a record NT$4.46 trillion, according to Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. Led by the rise in TSMC shares, the TAIEX closed up 0.54 percent at a year-high 9,056.56 points. Meanwhile, TSMC yesterday distributed NT$155.58 billion in cash dividends to its shareholders. Foreign investors, who held a combined 79.17 percent stake in TSMC, received more than NT$120 billion in dividends.
ELECTRONICS
Cando to file for bankruptcy
Touch panel maker Cando Corp’s (達鴻) board of directors yesterday decided to file for bankruptcy at the Taichung District Court to protect shareholders’ and creditors’ interests, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company booked NT$9.39 billion in liabilities, exceeding its total assets of NT$7.13 billion, the filing said. Cando shut down its factories and laid off most of its employees in January. TPK Holding Co (宸鴻), which wrote down Cando-related asset impairments last year, said the insolvency of its subsidiary would not have negative effects on its financial performance this year.
AUTO PARTS
Tong Yang shares up 5.87%
Auto parts maker Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業) yesterday saw its shares soar 5.87 percent to NT$54.1 after Daiwa Capital Markets suggested investors accumulate the stock this quarter. On Wednesday, Tong Yang reported its gross margin expanded to 25.2 percent in the first half of the year from 22.7 percent the previous year, and Daiwa said in a client note that gross margin would expand further in the second half due to higher mold income for its original equipment manufacturing business and lower depreciation expense for its sheet-metal manufacturing in its aftermarket business. Daiwa maintained a “buy” rating on Tong Yang and raised its 12-month price target from NT$57 to NT$66.
STEEL
Global production declines
Global crude steel production fell by 1.9 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period a year ago, led by slumps in Europe and Latin America, the World Steel Association (WSA) said on Wednesday. Overall production dipped to 794.8 million tonnes, the group said, pointing to a 6.1 percent slide among EU-based producers and a 13.8 percent slump in South America. North America limited its decline to 0.6 percent, while Asia was off 1.0 percent. Last month, overall production was stable at 136 million tonnes, the WSA said. China, the world’s No. 1 steel producer and top consumer, churned out 69.5 million tonnes for a 1.7 percent rise year-on-year, it said.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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