TAIEX falls 0.7 percent, chipmakers lead decline

Taiwan stocks fell, led by chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), on concerns chip demand may ebb further after IBM Corp said sales declined due to a drop in demand for computers and software.

The TAIEX dropped 29.11, or 0.7 percent, to 4190.78, its lowest close since Nov. 26, 1993. The index slid as much as 3.7 percent to 4065.64 in early trading. Traders said the index regained ground as the government bought shares using funds from its four pension and insurance funds.

Within the index, 302 stocks fell, 141 rose and 64 were unchanged. Trading volume was NT$51.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) coming in at 31 percent lower than the six-month daily average of NT$74.2 billion.

"In my 15 months in Taiwan and Asia I haven't found any screaming buys," said John Watson, who helps manage Asia-Pacific at Invesco Asia Ltd's US$15 billion fund. "The only real buyer in the market has been the Taiwanese government and so overseas investors are seeing that as an opportunity to sell." The TAIEX has been the worst-performing index in the world over the last three months, down 30 percent.

Chipmakers declined after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a price-weighted index of 16 companies who design, make and sell chips, dropped 3.4 percent yesterday.

TSMC, the biggest contract chipmaker, fell NT$1, or 1.6 percent, to NT$61. United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the second-biggest contract chipmaker, fell NT$1.90, or 5.2 percent, to NT$34.50. Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), a DRAM maker, shed NT$0.40, or 1.9 percent, to NT$20.90.

Companies that make PCs for IBM dropped after the largest seller of computers said second-quarter profits and sales were hurt by a drop in demand for PCs and software.

Acer Inc (宏電) fell NT$0.20, or 1.1 percent, to NT$18.40. Mitac International (神達電腦) fell NT$0.10, or 0.7 percent, to NT$13.80.

Asia Pacific Bank (亞太銀行) fell NT$0.18, or 4.4 percent, to NT$3.90. Emilia Roxas (鄭綿綿), chairwoman of closely held Asiaworld International Group (亞世集團), was detained for seven hours by the Taipei District Court for delaying NT$500 million of payments to the bank, the Taipei Times newspaper reported. Roxas said Asiaworld, which owns department stores and a hotel, can repay the two banks and has debt of NT$25 billion and NT$80 billion in assets, the paper reported.

Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd (中華電信) fell NT$1.40, or 3.4 percent, to NT$39.60. The stock fell to a record low of NT$38.50 at one stage on concern mobile phone sales won't rise as more than 80 percent of the island's population already own mobile phones.

Additionally, the company will largely pass into private hands later this year and three new fixed-line companies will begin offering services to the island's population some time before year's end in direct competition with the formerly 100 percent state-owned monopoly in its last market stronghold.