TAIEX hits four-month low
Taiwan's benchmark index dropped to a four-month low yesterday as investors feared tighter Chinese labor rules would increase costs of Taiwanese operations in China.
The TAIEX fell 302.89 points, or 3.57 percent, to 8,187.95.
Traders said selling pressure will likely persist in coming days due to weak investor confidence stemming from slow seasonal demand for electronics, and political uncertainties ahead of islandwide elections in the first quarter.
Taiwan shares rose moderately early yesterday but changed course mid-morning after local newspapers reported Foxconn Group (富士康集團) has agreed to sign a new labor agreement with its mainland China employees, which analysts said will increase costs.
The law takes effect Jan. 1.
Central bank sells bonds
The central bank said yesterday that it sold NT$25 billion (US$772 million) of 10-year government bonds on behalf of the Ministry of Finance at a yield of 2.509 percent, according to a statement issued yesterday.
The yield is higher than the return rate of 2.42 percent in the last sale of NT$40 billion 10-year bonds on Sept. 19, the statement said.
CPC may restart damaged unit
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) may restart a fire-damaged crude distillation unit at its Kaohsiung refinery next week.
Repairs to the equipment have been completed and the state-run company is waiting for the Kaohsiung city government's approval to resume production, Jessica Tang, a CPC spokeswoman, said by phone from Taipei today.
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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