BONDS
French ‘green bonds’ debut
The first tranche of US$120 million in “green bonds” issued by France-based Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank was yesterday listed on the over-the-counter market, adding to the global visibility of Taiwan’s bond market, the Taipei Exchange said. The bonds, which fund environmentally friendly projects, have a maturity of five years with a coupon rate of 2.64 percent. The French lender said it is upbeat about renewable energy development in Taiwan and plans to issue additional green bonds to participate in the government’s “green” energy efforts. It added that it hopes to work with Taiwanese bond underwriters to push for more listings of green bonds issued by other foreign companies on the market.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NT dollar rises to NT$30.490
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.103 to close at NT$30.490 as the greenback was hit by concerns about investigations into ties between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Russia, dealers said. Selling in the US dollar on the local foreign exchange market also reflected the strength of other regional currencies, while continued foreign institutional buying on the local equity market added downward pressure on the greenback, the dealers added. Foreign institutional investors yesterday bought a net NT$3.04 billion of shares on the main board, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Taiwan to fall behind: SEMI
Taiwan will likely fall behind South Korea and China to become the world’s third-largest semiconductor equipment market next year as its rivals build up their IC sectors, a report released yesterday by global industrial association SEMI showed. The trade group forecast that South Korea is likely to replace Taiwan as the world’s largest IC equipment market this year on nearly 70 percent growth in equipment purchases. China is then expected to unseat Taiwan as the second-largest IC equipment market next year, the report said. Last year, IC equipment sales in Taiwan totaled US$12.23 billion, making it the world’s largest semiconductor equipment market for the fifth consecutive year, ahead of South Korea at US$7.69 billion and China on US$6.46 billion, the report said. However, Taiwan’s IC equipment purchases are expected to grow only 4.09 percent annually to US$12.73 billion, while South Korea’s purchases are expected to soar 68.7 percent year-on-year to US$12.97 billion.
STOCK MARKETS
TAIEX cautiously edges up
Local shares yesterday closed slightly higher as sentiment turned cautious ahead of investor conferences scheduled for today for two tech heavyweights, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光), dealers said. Largan yesterday continued trending up, rising 2.74 percent to close at a record high of NT$5,430, lending support to the electronics sector, as well as the broader market, the dealers said. The stock soared 3.83 percent a day earlier. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed up 5.11 points, or 0.05 percent, at 10,420.68, after moving between 10,393.54 and 10,450.87 on turnover of NT$109.71 billion.
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