EQUITIES
TAIEX closes slightly higher
Local shares yesterday closed little changed as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued its downtrend, as investors locked in earlier gains. However, TSMC’s losses were offset by an upturn in property-rich stocks and financial shares, which were boosted by rotational buying. The TAIEX ended up 3.93 points, or 0.04 percent, at 11,184.15, on turnover of NT$101.76 billion (US$3.33 billion). TSMC shares fell 1.02 percent to close at NT$290. The stock led the bellwether electronics sector and the semiconductor sub-index, which dropped 0.28 percent and 0.88 percent respectively. Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$4.73 billion of shares on the main board yesterday, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cash Box appeals rejection
Cash Box KTV (錢櫃) yesterday said that it has filed an administrative appeal with the Taipei High Administrative Court after the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on Aug. 21 rejected its application to acquire Holiday Entertainment Co (好樂迪). Cash Box in February announced that it planned to acquire Holiday Entertainment for NT$67.7 per share, or NT$6.73 billion in total, but the commission rejected the deal amid concerns that it might harm market competition and consumer interests. It was the fourth time since 2007 that the commission rejected an application by the two leading karaoke chains to merge their operations.
AIRLINES
Starlux to receive first plane
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) is next week to take delivery of its first aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, in preparation for its service launch early next year. The narrow-body jet, flown by Starlux chairman and pilot Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), is to arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday next week from Hamburg, the airline said yesterday, without giving a landing time. As part of celebrations to mark the delivery of its first aircraft, the airline said it is holding a contest to see who can take the best photograph of the plane. The plane would also take test flights across the country to obtain a certificate of airworthiness, Starlux added.
MANUFACTURING
Idaho firms sign MOUs
Local company Megaforce Co (英濟) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Boise, Idaho-based SGW Designworks LLC, which would oversee the sharing of resources and techniques such as industrial design and mass production management between the companies. Meanwhile, the Taiwan Federation of Medical Devices Commercial Association, the Taipei Medical Instruments Commercial Association, the Taiwan Automation Intelligence and Robotics Association and the Taiwan-USA Industrial Cooperation Promotion Office signed another MOU with SMHeuristics Co, which is also based in Boise, to expand cooperation.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Nang Kuang approval likely
Nang Kuang Pharmaceutical Co (南光化學製藥) yesterday said it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA). The ANDA approval is for Nang Kuang’s generic version of the pemetrexed injection, a lung cancer drug. Nang Kuang would continue to work on product development and obtain the drug license to increase its revenue scale, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
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
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six