Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC,
TSMC's shares gained 2.8 percent to close at NT$69.1 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The benchmark TAIEX index rose 54.85 points, or 0.72 percent, to 7,684.00 on turnover of NT$104.97 billion.
Royal Philips Electronics NV, based in Amsterdam, sold a 3.4 percent stake, or 887 million shares, in the chipmaker through a placement after the end of trading on Monday. The sale is part of Philips' plan to sell its entire holding in TSMC by 2010. The NT$65 sale price was a 3.3 percent discount to Monday's closing price.
The sale reduces Philips' stake in TSMC to 12.8 percent from 16.2 percent, the Dutch company said in a statement.
Cathay Life was among the purchasers of the shares, spokesman of parent Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), Lee Chang-ken (李長庚), said in a telephone interview. He declined to provide details of the purchase.
The share purchase is not expected to affect Cathay Life's credit ratings, Taiwan Ratings Corp (
"The higher concentration risk appears manageable. Moreover, Cathay Life's capitalization remains at a level commensurate with the ratings," the statement read.
Fubon Life Assurance Co (富邦人壽) was another of the buyers of the stake, Economic Daily News reported, without citing sources.
CHIP WAR: Tariffs on Taiwanese chips would prompt companies to move their factories, but not necessarily to the US, unleashing a ‘global cross-sector tariff war’ US President Donald Trump would “shoot himself in the foot” if he follows through on his recent pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese and other foreign semiconductors entering the US, analysts said. Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on chips manufactured in Taiwan to as high as 100 percent would backfire, macroeconomist Henry Wu (吳嘉隆) said. He would “shoot himself in the foot,” Wu said on Saturday, as such economic measures would lead Taiwanese chip suppliers to pass on additional costs to their US clients and consumers, and ultimately cause another wave of inflation. Trump has claimed that Taiwan took up to
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal