STOCK MARKET
TAIEX takes a tumble
The market plunged more than 100 points to close below 10,900 points yesterday in the wake of an overnight decline on Wall Street, amid renewed concern over the eurozone caused by a political standoff in Italy. The market was also under pressure over fears of a looming trade war between the US and China. The TAIEX closed down 142.95 points, or 1.30 percent, at 10,821.17, with turnover of NT$160.73 billion (US$5.35 billion). According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$15.29 billion worth of shares on the main board.
MANUFACTURING
Walsin forecast improves
Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) yesterday revised upward its earnings forecast for Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) to NT$30.05 from NT$26.37 per share this year, after the nation’s second-largest passive component supplier posted better-than-expected financial results for last month. Due to price hikes, Walsin reported earnings of NT$2.15 per share, up 551.25 percent year-on-year, while sales grew 87.44 percent to NT$3.13 billion. Walsin shares yesterday closed 1.64 percent higher at NT$372.5.
E-COMMERCE
PChomestore to go private
The Taipei Exchange yesterday said PChomestore Inc (商店街) would stop trading its shares on the over-the-counter board on June 22, after the company’s board decided earlier this month to take the e-commerce operator private. PChomestore, a subsidiary of PChome Online Inc (網路家庭), announced a NT$363 million privatization plan in a bid to pursue greater returns on investment. PChome and its partners plan to buy back PChomestore shares on the open market at NT$44 per share from June 22 to Aug. 10. PChomestore shares yesterday closed 0.12 percent higher at NT$43.05.
FOOD PROCESSING
Namchow ahead of schedule
Namchow Holding Co (南僑投資控股) is expected to see its total annual revenue reach NT$20 billion next year, one year ahead of schedule, chairman Alfred Chen (陳飛龍) told shareholders yesterday, adding that he is optimistic about the group’s business performance this year. The group plans to submit an application to the Chinese securities regulator next month or in July to launch an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Chen said.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CCIA spends on start-ups
China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) yesterday said its CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator (CCIA, 開發創新加速器), which facilitates the development of emerging companies in Taiwan, has invested in six start-ups since becoming operational a year ago. The start-ups include artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, mobile Internet and next-generation e-commerce businesses, CDIB Capital International Corp (中華開發資本) president Ho Chun-huei (何俊輝) said.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Hoffman opens in Taipei
The Hoffman Agency, a global public relations firm, yesterday announced the establishment of its Taipei office this month, making it the firm’s eighth office in Asia. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the firm said in a news release that it would focus on helping Taiwanese tech companies and start-ups enter international markets.
ELECTRONICS BOOST: A predicted surge in exports would likely be driven by ICT products, exports of which have soared 84.7 percent from a year earlier, DBS said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) yesterday raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 4 percent from 3 percent, citing robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related exports and accelerated shipment activity, which are expected to offset potential headwinds from US tariffs. “Our GDP growth forecast for 2025 is revised up to 4 percent from 3 percent to reflect front-loaded exports and strong AI demand,” Singapore-based DBS senior economist Ma Tieying (馬鐵英) said in an online briefing. Taiwan’s second-quarter performance beat expectations, with GDP growth likely surpassing 5 percent, driven by a 34.1 percent year-on-year increase in exports, Ma said, citing government
SMART MANUFACTURING: The company aims to have its production close to the market end, but attracting investment is still a challenge, the firm’s president said Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said its long-term global production plan would stay unchanged amid geopolitical and tariff policy uncertainties, citing its diversified global deployment. With operations in Taiwan, Thailand, China, India, Europe and the US, Delta follows a “produce at the market end” strategy and bases its production on customer demand, with major site plans unchanged, Delta president Simon Chang (張訓海) said on the sidelines of a company event yesterday. Thailand would remain Delta’s second headquarters, as stated in its first-quarter earnings conference, with its plant there adopting a full smart manufacturing system, Chang said. Thailand is the firm’s second-largest overseas
‘REMARKABLE SHOWING’: The economy likely grew 5 percent in the first half of the year, although it would likely taper off significantly, TIER economist Gordon Sun said The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) yesterday raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.02 percent, citing robust export-driven expansion in the first half that is likely to give way to a notable slowdown later in the year as the front-loading of global shipments fades. The revised projection marks an upward adjustment of 0.11 percentage points from April’s estimate, driven by a surge in exports and corporate inventory buildup ahead of possible US tariff hikes, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy likely grew more than 5 percent in the first six months
SUPPLY RESILIENCE: The extra expense would be worth it, as the US firm is diversifying chip sourcing to avert disruptions similar to the one during the pandemic, the CEO said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) on Wednesday said that the chips her company gets from supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would cost more when they are produced in TSMC’s Arizona facilities. Compared with similar parts from factories in Taiwan, the US chips would be “more than 5 percent, but less than 20 percent” in terms of higher costs, she said at an artificial intelligence (AI) event in Washington. AMD expects its first chips from TSMC’s Arizona facilities by the end of the year, Su said. The extra expense is worth it, because the company is
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