EQUITIES
US markets boost TAIEX
The TAIEX yesterday gained ground, as investors were encouraged by a strong showing by US markets on Friday last week on the back of rising optimism about a trade deal between Washington and Beijing, dealers said. However, turnover remained thin, with many investors staying on the sidelines amid concerns that the local stock market could suffer a major pullback following solid gains, they said. The TAIEX closed up 74.18 points, or 0.64 percent, at the day’s high of 11,599.78, on turnover of NT$108.464 billion (US$3.56 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$3.12 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
TAX REVENUE
Ratio hits 10-year high
Total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 13.4 percent last year, up from 12.9 percent the previous year and the highest since 2008, Ministry of Finance data showed. The ratio for this year is likely to stay at about 13.4 percent and drop to 13 percent next year, Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. However, the ministry aims to raise the ratio to 15 percent in the long term to maintain the nation’s fiscal stability, Su said.
CORPORATE DEBT
Orsted to sell ‘green’ bonds
Orsted A/S “green” bonds are scheduled to be listed and traded on the over-the-counter market today, the Taipei Exchange said. Through its subsidiary Orsted Wind Power TW Holding A/S, the Danish energy developer is issuing NT$12 billion of green bonds to finance its offshore wind development projects in the nation. Orsted’s bonds comprise a NT$4 billion tranche with a maturity of seven years and a 0.92 percent coupon, and an NT$8 billion tranche with a maturity of 15 years and a 1.5 percent coupon, the exchange said. The bonds are to be offered to professional institutional investors, rather than to retail investors, the exchange said.
EARNINGS
Listed firms’ results mixed
Aggregate revenues and pretax earnings of listed companies in the first three quarters of this year showed mixed results, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. In the first nine months, aggregate sales by companies listed on the exchange rose 0.07 percent year-on-year to NT$20.03 trillion, while pretax income fell 16.73 percent year-on-year to NT$1.49 trillion. Increases in profit were led by banking and insurance companies, as well as cement suppliers, while plastics, semiconductor and oil-and-gas companies were the hardest hit, the exchange said.
INSURANCE
Aviva unveils Asia plans
Aviva PLC said it plans to retain its Chinese joint venture and its assets in Singapore, while continuing to explore options for some other businesses in Asia. “Aviva’s Singapore and China business units delivered double-digit [percentage] operating profit growth in 2018 and are earning attractive returns,” a company statement released yesterday said. “Both countries are expected to pay dividends to group center in 2019.” The London-based insurer said that its joint venture in China would be retained because of its “high growth prospects” and the scale of the Chinese market. Aviva is continuing to explore “strategic” options for its Vietnamese business, as well as its operations in Hong Kong and Indonesia, it said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last