FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Reserves rise US$1.97bn
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves totaled US$446.43 billion at the end of last month, an increase of US$1.97 billion from one month earlier, the central bank said yesterday. The central bank attributed the increase to foreign exchange management skills and the appreciation of major reserve currencies, such as the euro against the US dollar. Foreign investors held NT$388.1 billion (US$12.9 billion) of local shares and bonds, accounting for 87 percent of total foreign exchange reserves, the central bank said, meaning it has sufficient reserves in case of need.
BANKING
Foreign banks eye Taiwan
Two foreign financial institutions, among the top 500 banks in the world, have expressed an interest in establishing a foothold in Taiwan, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday, declining to identify the banks. Given the size of the banks, they would be allowed to directly open branches instead of representative offices in the nation, the commission said. Commission data showed that as of the end of June, local and foreign banks had 3,422 outlets, down 11 from a year earlier, but the number of employees in charge of digital financial services increased by 1,466 in the same period. Over the past two years, banks from Vietnam, France and Japan have established branches or representative offices in Taiwan, with France-based Natixis SA the latest to open a Taipei branch earlier this year.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Traders invest in NT dollar
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.031 to close at NT$30.070 on turnover of US$752 million, as local traders were motivated by foreign fund inflows to buy into the local currency, dealers said. Soon after the local foreign exchange market opened, the US dollar faced downward pressure as foreign investors moved their funds into the region, including Taiwan, the dealers said. The inflows reflected reduced concerns over the tension in the region caused by the latest nuclear bomb test by North Korea, which prompted traders to pick up regional currencies, including the South Korean won, which the NT dollar tracks closely, they said.
ENERGY
Kinmen hit by power outage
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said a malfunction of a distribution line caused a sudden load loss of eight generators at a diesel-fired power plant in Kinmen County, causing a blackout that affected more than 29,000 households. The power plant has a capacity of 900,000 kilowatts, Taipower said. The state-run utility said it had restored power to 17,000 households as of press time last night. Taipower said it would look into the incident and find out the cause of the malfunction.
MANUFACTURING
Makalot sales up 16 percent
Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽), a garment manufacturer for global clothing brands, yesterday reported that sales last month rose 16 percent year-on-year to NT$2.07 billion on improving customer demand. From January through last month, cumulative sales totaled NT$14.59 billion, a 0.4 percent decline from the same period last year, the firm said in an e-mail, but added that the pace of annual decline has narrowed from the first seven month’s 2.7 percent. Makalot shares dropped 0.35 percent to close at NT$141 in Taipei trading yesterday.
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
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”