MANUFACTURING
Sector registers ‘yellow-blue’
The local manufacturing sector was “yellow-blue” in April for the second consecutive month, while the index that gauges the climate of the sector dropped from the previous month, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday. The institute uses a five-color system to indicate domestic economic activity, with “yellow-blue” suggesting sluggish growth. The institute said that the composite index for the local manufacturing sector fell 0.33 points in April from a month earlier to 10.58 and remained “yellow-blue,” or between 10.5 and 13 points. The fall indicated that growth decelerated for export orders, industrial production and bilateral trade, TIER said.
HOUSING
Transaction activity rises
Housing transactions in the six major municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung — increased by between 5 percent and 23 percent last month from the previous month, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing data compiled by local-government agencies. Transactions in Kaohsiung increased by 23 percent from April, outperforming the other special municipalities, the report said. Transactions in Taipei increased by 21 percent month-on-month and showed the second-highest growth among the six cities. Overall transactions in the municipalities were 17,600 units last month, an increase of 15.8 percent from April, the report said. The figure represented the highest level of the year due to favorable prices, but it remained 1 percent lower than a year earlier, it said.
BANKING
First Financial rated ‘neutral’
Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) on Thursday gave a “neutral” outlook for state-run First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) due to a lack of clear earnings growth catalysts for its flagship banking unit this year. The unlikelihood of an interest-rate hike in the second half of this year has ruled out significant growth momentum for First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), as domestic loans make up 80 percent of the lender’s loan book, Yuanta analyst Peggy Shih (施姵帆) wrote in a note to clients. In addition, the lender’s low proportion of foreign-currency-denominated loans would benefit little from the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, Shih said. First Financial has announced plans to distribute a cash dividend of NT$1.2 per share, translating to a payout of 83 percent, up from 65 percent the previous year.
ELECTRONICS
Apple speaker expected
Apple Inc is preparing to launch a connected speaker to serve as a “smart” home assistant in a challenge to Amazon Echo and Google Home, a report said on Thursday. The speaker, powered by Apple’s digital assistant Siri, might be unveiled at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference in Silicon Valley, California, next week, Bloomberg News reported. The new device — speculation about which has been swirling for months — could entice software makers to tailor applications or services for a broader array of Apple hardware, the report said. Like Echo and Home devices gaining traction in the market, an Apple home assistant could let people control lights and appliances, and interact with the Internet using voice commands. Apple did not reply to a request for comment.
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