EQUITIES
G20 woes weigh on shares
Taiwanese shares yesterday moved lower on thin turnover as investors remained cautious ahead of the G20 summit this week in Japan, where US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) are expected to meet amid trade frictions between the two countries. Selling focused on the bellwether electronics sector, led by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), as old economy and financial stocks also weakened to drag the broader market lower, dealers said. The TAIEX ended down 72.75 points, or 0.67 percent, at 10,706.72 points, on turnover of NT$99.63 billion (US$3.2 billion), the Taiwan Stock Exchange said. Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$1.999 billion of shares, it said.
GOVERNMENT
Survey, university ink MOU
The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Central Geological Survey yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with National Chung Cheng University to establish a partnership on geological studies, exhibitions and scientific education in remembrance of the 921 Earthquake 20 years ago. The survey said it is looking to reinforce cooperation between the agency and academic institutions to broaden the application of geological studies. The university is in Chiayi County, which experienced the 1906 Meishan earthquake and has since established a research center and museum.
STEELMAKERS
China Steel sales down
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼) on Monday said that sales and profit last month declined as steel shipments dropped by 27,000 tonnes from April. Consolidated revenue decreased 2 percent monthly to NT$32.37 billion, while operating income and pretax income fell 27 percent and 23 percent to NT$1.79 billion and NT$1.71 billion respectively, the company said. Cumulative revenue from January to last month grew 1 percent to NT$161.76 billion, compared with NT$160.33 billion in the same period last year. However, cumulative operating income dropped 16 percent to NT$9.5 billion and pretax profit decreased 15 percent to NT$9.06 billion, it said.
BIKEMAKERS
Giant approves dividend plan
Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) shareholders on Friday approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$4.6 per share based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$7.64, representing a payout ratio of 60.21 percent. They also approved a plan to list Giant Light Metal Technology (Kunshan) Co (捷安特輕合金科技) as Chinese yuan-denominated A-shares. The unit manufactures finished and semi-finished aluminum industrial products.
TECHNOLOGY
CRM expenditures up 15.6%
Global customer relationship management (CRM)-related software expenditures last year reached US$48.2 billion, up 15.6 percent annually, Gartner Inc said in a report yesterday. The category constitutes the fastest-growing domain in which companies has chosen to invest, Gartner said. Taiwanese firms have spent NT$1.8 billion on CRM software, with Adobe Inc, SAP SE, Oracle Corp, Cisco Systems Inc and Salesforce.com Inc making up the top five software firms, taking more than 40 percent of the market share, Gartner said. Microsoft Corp last year moved up to fifth place, replacing Genesys Inc, Gartner added. Nearly one-quarter of software firms’ total revenue comes from CRM products, it said.
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