Shares rise slightly
Taiwanese shares closed 0.30 percent higher yesterday as bargain-hunting offset falls triggered by a decline on Wall Street over continuing anxiety at the health of the US economy, dealers said.
The local bourse managed to close in positive territory thanks to interest in technology stocks, with the buying spree fueled by a prolonged technical rebound, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 25.67 points at 8,676.95 on turnover of NT$117.35 billion (US$3.63 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,032 to 1,018, with 431 stocks unchanged.
The New Taiwan dollar ended the day's trading at NT$32.303 over the US dollar, up NT$0.002 from the previous close.
Forex reserves hit high
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves reached a record high US$270.09 billion at the end of last month, up from US$265.92 billion the previous month, the central bank said yesterday.
Besides returns from foreign exchange reserves management, the increase in the reserves reflected the appreciation of the euro and other major currencies, it said.
Foreign exchange reserves denominated in these currencies were worth more in terms of the base currency, the US dollar, it said.
Hanoi factory for Foxconn
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康), the world's largest contract maker of mobile phones, plans to open its first factory in Vietnam next year to benefit from labor costs that are lower than China's.
Foxconn, based in Shenzhen, will join other members of the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co group to start production around Hanoi, company spokesman Vincent Tong (童文欣) said yesterday in a phone interview.
A Foxconn team is in Vietnam assessing the best way to expand there, with options including lease of a factory or construction of a new facility, Tong said.
Foxconn is also building plants in India.
"India is turning into one of our key sites," Tong said, declining to comment on an Economic Times report that Foxconn will spend US$1.5 billion to expand there.
Current capacity in India is "not even 10 percent" of future capacity, he said.
Tight monetary policy in PRC
China has decided to adopt tight monetary policies next year, marking the first change in its stance in a decade, state media said yesterday.
Prudent monetary polices have been in place for the past 10 years, Xinhua news agency reported, suggesting a profound change in Beijing's economic policies had taken place.
The decision to change to "tight monetary policies" was revealed at the end of the three-day Central Economic Work Conference, which brought together top decision-makers from the Communist Party and the government.
The meeting also concluded that it would be a priority next year to prevent overheating and curb inflation while controlling the volume and pace of loans, Xinhua said.
Northern Rock bailout approved
EU regulators yesterday approved Britain's bailout of troubled mortgage lender Northern Rock after finding that a package of loans and deposit guarantees were in line with European emergency aid rules.
"The [European] Commission has concluded that the measures comply with EU rules on rescue aid," it said after reviewing the measures.
Northern Rock was forced to seek an emergency loan from the Bank of England in September after struggling to meet its funding needs in the aftermath of the credit crunch on international financial markets.
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
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors