TSIA says unhurt by port woes
The shutdown of US West Coast ports will not have a direct impact on Taiwan's semiconductor industry, the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA, 台灣半導體協會) said yesterday. TSIA secretary-general Gordon Chen (陳文咸) said that because the export of the semiconductor industry's finished goods or the import of its raw materials are all through air transport, there will be no direct effect from the shutdown of the ports on Taiwan's semiconductor industry. However, he said that if the shutdown drags on, it will surely harm to the overall economy. Chen said that because of the intertwining of the world's industries, the recovery of the semiconductor sector will be adversely affected by the work stoppage. He predicted that it will not be until after January that the Tai-wan's semiconductor industry will show signs of recovery.
Factory closures decline
A total of 340 factories closed in Taiwan in August, 12.8 percent fewer than in the same period a year earlier, the Ministry of Eco-nomic Affairs said yesterday. During the same period, the number of company start-ups rose 34 percent from a year earlier to 434. "The figures signalled the economy was improving," a ministry official said. In the eight months ending in August, the number of factory closures totalled 2,205, down 40.58 percent year-on-year. Nearly 5,200 factories were shut down last year as the economy suffered its first ever full-year contraction.
TSMC sales up year-on-year
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (台積電) said yesterday its sales in September totalled NT$12.76 billion (US$364.57 million), down 5.8 percent from August but up 37 percent from a year earlier. Up to September, the company's sales rose 29.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$119.81 billion, said TSMC. September's decline from the month before was slightly better than market expectations but the overall downward trend will remain in place at least up to November, SinoPac Securities Corp (建華證券) analyst Joyce Hsu said. TSMC and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) have been the targets of foreign sell-offs for weeks over their uncertain outlook amid the sluggish global demand for high-tech products.
Polaris seeks ties with E*Trade
Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券), one of Taiwan's top three Internet brokerages by trading volume, is in talks with E*Trade Group to form an alliance to expand operations. Polaris "may cooperate with E*Trade to widen its business," said Shau Dai Lin, chairman of Polaris International Securities Investment Trust Co (寶來投信), a unit of Polaris Securities Group. Shau didn't say what kind of alliance Polaris was seeking or when it would start. Polaris said last month it was seeking a US partner to expand in Taiwan and China.
NT dollar maintains slide
The NT dollar yesterday ended trading at its lowest closing level in nine-and-a-half months against its US counterpart on speculation domestic companies will increase US dollar purchases to pay for crude oil imports. The local unit slid NT$0.049, or 0.1 percent, to close at NT$35.118 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. That is the unit's weakest close since Dec. 27. The turnover was US$583 million, up from the previous day's US$546 million. Overseas investor net sales of Taiwan's stocks for an eighth straight session also reduced demand for the currency, analysts said. International money managers sold almost a net NT$16 billion (US$455 million) of Taiwan stocks in the eight-day period.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
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