TRADE
Brexit to have limited impact
The Bureau of Foreign Trade yesterday said that Brexit would have a limited effect on Taiwan’s exports, as Britain represents only 1 percent of the nation’s overall trade. Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Commission said that Brexit-related exposure faced by Taiwanese financial companies totaled about NT$1.31 trillion (US$41.47 billion), of which insurers have the highest exposure at NT$989.6 billion, 4.87 percent of insurers’ capital. Banks have the second-highest exposure at NT$169.5 billion, 0.38 percent of their assets, of which NT$114.4 billion are investments and NT$55.1 billion are loans, the commission said. Equities and futures brokerages have a combined exposure of NT$17.51 billion, 3.63 percent of the two industries’ net value, it added.
ENERGY
FTC approves CPC purchase
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday approved CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (CPC, 台灣中油) NT$2.28 billion bid to acquire Tung Ting Gas Corp (東鼎液化瓦斯). The two companies are to merge upon the deal’s completion, with CPC designated as the surviving entity. Approval was granted as the competitive landscape of the nation’s liquefied natural gas market would not be affected, the commission said, adding that it has classified the deal as a vertical merger between different industry segments.
SHIPPING
Supply glut expected to ease
A supply glut that has tormented the global container shipping industry is expected to diminish this year, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) said yesterday. Globally, total cargo shipping capacity growth is expected to reach 3.4 percent this year, down from a previous estimate of 4.8 percent, Yang Ming chairman Bronson Hsieh (謝志堅) said. With demand growth holding steady at 1.6 percent, shippers are anticipating freight rates to recover throughout this year, he said, adding that freight rates for some routes between Asia and Europe have surged by 100 percent, while capacity has grown by only 1.6 percent.
CHIPMAKERS
Nanya sells overseas bonds
DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said it has raised US$500 million through sales of overseas corporate bonds. The bonds are to mature on Jan. 24, 2022, and were issued as zero-coupon and with a 1.75 percent yield per annum, Nanya said, adding that investors have a one-time option to put the bonds at a yield-to-put of 1.75 percent per annum on Jan. 24, 2020. The bonds can be converted into newly issued common shares of Nanya at an initial conversion price of NT$52.47 per common share, the firm said, adding that the transaction is expected to settle and close on Tuesday next week. The chipmaker plans to use the net proceeds to fund a technology upgrade to a 20-nanometer process, it said.
GARMENTS
Makalot sales fall 5.27%
Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽), a garment manufacturer for global clothing brands, yesterday said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that sales for last year would decline 5.27 percent to NT$22.13 billion. Pre-tax profit for last year plunged 29.08 percent to NT$1.91 billion, from NT$2.69 billion in 2015, due to lower product prices and weakening demand from its major global brand customers, Makalot said. Makalot shares yesterday fell 0.82 percent to NT$121 in Taipei trading.
MARKET LEADERSHIP: Investors are flocking to Nvidia, drawn by the company’s long-term fundamntals, dominant position in the AI sector, and pricing and margin power Two years after Nvidia Corp made history by becoming the first chipmaker to achieve a US$1 trillion market capitalization, an even more remarkable milestone is within its grasp: becoming the first company to reach US$4 trillion. After the emergence of China’s DeepSeek (深度求索) sent the stock plunging earlier this year and stoked concerns that outlays on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure were set to slow, Nvidia shares have rallied back to a record. The company’s biggest customers remain full steam ahead on spending, much of which is flowing to its computing systems. Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc are
Luxury fashion powerhouse Prada SpA has acknowledged the ancient Indian roots of its new sandal design after the debut of the open-toe footwear sparked a furor among Indian artisans and politicians thousands of miles from the catwalk in Italy. Images from Prada’s fashion show in Milan last weekend showed models wearing leather sandals with a braided design that resembled handmade Kolhapuri slippers with designs dating back to the 12th century. A wave of criticism in the media and from lawmakers followed over the Italian brand’s lack of public acknowledgement of the Indian sandal design, which is named after a city in the
The US overtaking China as Taiwan’s top export destination could boost industrial development and wage growth, given the US is a high-income economy, an economist said yesterday. However, Taiwan still needs to diversify its export markets due to the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump’s administration, said Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮), an economics professor at National Central University. Taiwan’s exports soared to a record US$51.74 billion last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and continued orders, with information and communication technology (ICT) and audio/video products leading all sectors. The US reclaimed its position as Taiwan’s top export market, accounting for
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
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