Shares close higher
Shares closed 0.78 percent higher yesterday -- led by technology shares -- tracking gains in the US overnight, dealers said.
With US tech stocks such as Intel and Yahoo performing strongly, local investors bought into technology heavyweights on expectations they will report solid earnings for the September quarter next week, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 74.91 points at 9,637.07, on turnover of NT$169.74 billion (US$5.21 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,218 to 753, with 241 stocks unchanged.
On the foreign exchange market, the New Taiwan dollar closed the day's trading at NT$32.595 over the US dollar, up NT$0.01 from the previous close of NT$32.605 on renewed foreign fund inflows.
Turnover was US$1.015 billion on the Taipei Forex Inc.
Inbound investment increases
Approved inbound investment by overseas companies topped US$10 billion for the first nine months of this year, an increase of 6 percent over the same period of last year, Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said yesterday.
An official from the ministry's Investment Commission said that Taiwan's inbound investments had shown brilliant performance during the past few years, with that of last year reaching a record high of US$13.96 billion.
In addition to several big investment projects launched by multinational firms in Taiwan, the US biotechnology and pharmaceutical giant MediVas and Intrinsyc Software International Inc of Canada have decided to put their Asian bases in Taiwan, the official said.
Wintek climbs on new funds
Wintek Corp (勝華科技), the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile-phone screens, climbed the most in two months in Taipei trading after raising US$120 million through a global depositary receipt offering to increase its production capacity.
Wintek, based in Taichung, sold the GDRs for US$6 each, a discount of 6.1 percent from the Oct. 16 close, the day before pricing. The company will use the money to buy materials and parts as it expands production to meet rising demand.
The GDRs will be listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange.
In August, Wintek said it had agreed to buy a factory from rival Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) for NT$9 billion (US$276 million) to add capacity.
Logitech sales break record
Swiss computer equipment group Logitech on yesterday announced record sales and profits for its second quarter, along with a change at the top as chief executive Guerrino de Luca prepares to step aside.
The company said its operating income had risen 54 percent to 80.4 million dollars for the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
Logitech -- which has bases in the western Swiss town of Romanel-sur-Morges, in Taiwan and in California, employs more than 7,000 people, with manufacturing of computer peripherals centred on Asia.
China's inflation near record
China's inflation rate hovered close to a 10-year high last month as the economy edged closer to overheating, a top planning official said yesterday, signaling that more cooling measures were on the way.
The consumer price index rose 6.2 percent last month and 4.1 percent for the first nine months of the year, the National Development and Reform Commission said.
Last month's figure was down slightly from a 6.5 percent rise in August, the highest inflation China had seen in more than a decade, but it ensured the government's full-year target of 3.0 percent would be exceeded.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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