Taiwan stocks rose, led by Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), after the chipmaker said it will build a semiconductor plant on the island that will cut costs by almost a third.
The TWSE Index rose 40.49, or 0.9 percent, to 4,530.68, bringing its gains in the week to 4.9 percent. Within the index, 360 stocks rose and 80 fell.
Chip shares also rose on expectations demand will pick up later this year, improving earnings by the fourth quarter.
"The consensus now is that there may be some sort of a turnaround in semiconductor demand in the second half of this year," said Torben Hansen, who helps manage about US$700 million in investments in global emerging markets at Dankse Capital Management in Denmark. "In Asia we've chosen to take the bet now." The index has gained 12 percent in seven trading days.
Trading volume yesterday was NT$71.57 billion, up from NT$63.39 billion Thursday and NT$48.38 billion Wednesday.
Winbond rose NT$1.50, or 6.9 percent, to NT$23.20. The memory chipmaker plans to make 300mm wafers, which yield more chips after cutting than the current 200mm standard. Winbond will offer stakes in the project to Toshiba Corp, Fujitsu Ltd and other Japanese chipmakers.
Acer Inc (
Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) rose NT$0.50, or 3.3 percent, to NT$15.70. The second-biggest bank by assets said its Chairman Edward Chien (簡弘道)will leave the bank and his position will be filled by vice chairman Lin Ming-cheng (林明成).
Walsin Lihwa Corp (
Katherine Huang, a spokeswoman for the maker of electric wires and cables, said it plans to buy back 80 million shares, or 2.2 percent, of the company's stock until Sept. 9 at between NT$10 and NT$11 per share. The company has bought 140,000 of its own shares to date under the buyback program, Huang said. Trading in the shares was nearly four times that of Thursday.
Memory chipmakers rose after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a price-weighted index of 16 companies involved in the design and manufacturing of chips, rose 3.2 percent Thursday. The index is up 20 percent since July 24.
Mosel Vitelic Inc (
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