BANKING
Banks’ profitability drops
Local banks last year posted declines in return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) for the third straight year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said on Thursday. Banks’ ROA and ROE came in at 0.67 percent and 8.97 percent respectively, falling by 0.01 and 0.26 percentage points from the previous year, as assets expansion outpaced growth in profitability, the commission said. A surge in penalties for infractions at home and abroad over the past three years also contributed to the decline, it said. ROA dropped to a six-year low, while ROE slid to an eight-year low, it added.
ENERGY
Swancor, FPG firms team up
Resin manufacturer and wind farm developer Swancor Holding Co (上緯) on Thursday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團) members to develop a local supply chain for offshore wind farms. Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) and Formosa Heavy Industries Corp (台朔重工) are to produce materials used in turbine blades and underwater structure of wind turbines respectively for Swancor’s ongoing projects, the company said in a statement. Swancor has been working on its offshore energy project since 2013, with business partners including Sydney-headquartered Macquarie Capital Ltd and Denmark-based Orsted A/S.
MEDIA
VHQ plans to raise NT$740m
Singapore-based VHQ Media Holdings Ltd plans to raise capital of NT$740 million (US$25.26 million) through the issuance of 5.22 million new common shares. The company on Wednesday said that it has set the price at NT$141.78 per share and the proceeds would be used to purchase a 70 percent stake in Beijing Jupiter Cultural Media Inc (木星時代文化傳媒), a deal that is expected to be completed in the second quarter, it said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. VHQ offers movie production, TV commercials visual design, special effects, 3D animation and post-production services.
RETAIL
Eslite announces dividends
Eslite Spectrum Corp (誠品生活), which operates bookstores, restaurants, hotels and commercial centers, on Tuesday said its board has approved a plan to distribute cash dividends of NT$7.56 per common share, representing a payout ratio of 84.85 percent based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$8.91. Revenue last year edged up 0.35 percent from the previous year to NT$4.28 billion, while net income rose 0.5 percent to NT$423 million. The company is to hold an annual general meeting on May 29 at the Eslite Xinyi Store in Taipei, where shareholders are to vote on the dividend proposal.
ELECTRONICS
Tripod profit jumps 22%
Printed circuit board supplier Tripod Technology Corp (健鼎科技) on Tuesday reported that net profit for last year rose 22.19 percent to NT$4.37 billion, or earnings per share of NT$8.31, the highest since 2010. Gross margin increased 0.26 percentage points to 18.23 percent and revenue expanded 22.19 percent to NT$45.82 billion. The company expects revenue this year to grow by 8 to 10 percent, buoyed by its solid state drive and “smart” speaker segments, as well as increased orders from top Chinese handset and automotive clients. Tripod operates plants in Taoyuan as well as in China’s Jiangsu and Hubei provinces.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure