EQUITIES
Tariff fears lower stocks
Local shares took a beating yesterday after the US listed US$200 billion of Chinese goods that are to be hit by new tariffs, escalating trade friction between the world’s two largest economies. As investors rushed to dump large-cap stocks, in particular in the bellwether electronics sector, the TAIEX fell below 10,700 points, but recovered some of its earlier losses on bargain-hunting by government-led funds, dealers said. The TAIEX ended the session down 80.05 points, or 0.74 percent, at 10,676.84 points, with turnover of NT$118.84 billion (US$3.9 billion).
STEELMAKERS
Dumping deflates firm’s stock
Shares of Chien Shing Stainless Steel Co (千興不銹鋼) yesterday plunged by the daily maximum of 10 percent after chairman Yeh Shuo-tang (葉碩堂) was detained over alleged dumping of industrial waste. The company confirmed that Yeh and former executive Sun Shih-kuo (孫世國) had on Tuesday been detained for allegedly engaging in the illegal dumping of tens of thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste at the company’s factories, but said that operations remain normal. The company said it would soon elect a new acting chairman.
ELECTRONICS
Supplier to spur Chinese unit
Electrical terminal supplier K.S. Terminals Inc (健和興端子) yesterday said its board approved a plan to inject US$20 million into its Chinese unit. The company has in the past few years teamed up with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (華為) to explore opportunities in China’s growing digital infrastructure market. Cumulative revenue in the first half of this year edged up 0.76 percent from last year to NT$1.68 billion, company data showed.
HOSPITALITY
Regent sells mooncake sets
Regent Taipei (台北晶華酒店), the flagship property of Regent Hotels & Resorts (晶華麗晶酒店集團), on Tuesday launched a preorder sale for mooncake gift sets to boost food sales ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, which this year falls on Sept. 24. The hotel said it aims to sell 36,000 gift sets at the same prices as last year, but through different sales channels. That would mean a 20 percent increase in volume from last year, it said.
TAXES
Overall revenue up 7.1%
Overall tax revenue increased 7.1 percent year-on-year to NT$1.334 trillion in the first half of this year, led by increases in corporate income tax, business tax and securities transaction tax revenues, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Last month alone, tax revenue dropped 2.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$478.9 billion due to a high comparison base in corporate income tax, housing tax and gift tax revenues, the ministry said.
LABOR
May wages rise 2.48%
Average regular wages in Taiwan in May increased 2.48 percent from a year earlier to NT$40,874, following an annual increase of 2.26 percent in April, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Tuesday. In the first five months of this year, average regular wages rose 2.55 percent from a year earlier to NT$40,720, the agency said. Meanwhile, working hours in May averaged 178.8, up 10.8 hours, or 6.43 percent, from a year earlier. In the first five months of this year, average working hours stood at 164.8, up three hours, or 1.85 percent, it added.
Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), founder and CEO of US-based artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Friday celebrated the first Nvidia Blackwell wafer produced on US soil. Huang visited TSMC’s advanced wafer fab in the US state of Arizona and joined the Taiwanese chipmaker’s executives to witness the efforts to “build the infrastructure that powers the world’s AI factories, right here in America,” Nvidia said in a statement. At the event, Huang joined Y.L. Wang (王英郎), vice president of operations at TSMC, in signing their names on the Blackwell wafer to
AI BOOST: Although Taiwan’s reliance on Chinese rare earth elements is limited, it could face indirect impacts from supply issues and price volatility, an economist said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) has sharply raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 5.6 percent, citing stronger-than-expected exports and investment linked to artificial intelligence (AI), as it said that the current momentum could peak soon. The acceleration of the global AI race has fueled a surge in Taiwan’s AI-related capital spending and exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products, which have been key drivers of growth this year. “We have revised our GDP forecast for Taiwan upward to 5.6 percent from 4 percent, an upgrade that mainly reflects stronger-than-expected AI-related exports and investment in the third
RARE EARTHS: The call between the US Treasury Secretary and his Chinese counterpart came as Washington sought to rally G7 partners in response to China’s export controls China and the US on Saturday agreed to conduct another round of trade negotiations in the coming week, as the world’s two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle. Beijing last week announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation. Trump had also threatened to cancel his expected meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea later this month on the sidelines of the APEC summit. In the latest indication of efforts to resolve their dispute, Chinese state media reported that
CHINESE EXPORT CURBS: A dispute between China and the Netherlands could halt chip supply, affecting vehicle production, US and European auto associations said Groups representing major automakers late on Thursday warned that a chip disruption stemming from a dispute between China and the Dutch government could quickly affect US auto production. Automakers and their suppliers received notice from chipmaker Nexperia (安世半導體) last week that it could no longer guarantee delivery of its chips, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said, adding that manufacturing could be significantly disrupted. In the US, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai and nearly all other major automakers, urged a quick resolution. “If the shipment of automotive chips doesn’t resume — quickly — it’s going to
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