Chunghwa Telecom profits rise
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) posted an 8 percent gain in last year's profit on rising sales from Internet and data services.
Net income last year climbed to NT$48.47 billion (US$1.5 billion) from NT$44.89 billion a year earlier, the Taipei-based company said in a statement yesterday. The company was expected to post a profit of NT$48.72 billion, according to the average estimate of 16 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Sales advanced to NT$186.3 billion from NT$184.5 billion in 2006, the company said.
Taiwan Mobile stake for sale
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), the nation's second-largest telecom operator, said yesterday that its fixed-line subsidiary Taiwan Fixed Network Co (台灣固網) plans to sell a 6 percent stake in Taiwan Mobile to raise operational funds.
"The board of Taiwan Fixed Network approved the proposal today [Friday]. They have reached agreements with interested investors," Taiwan Mobile spokesperson Josephine Juan (阮淑祥) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
Taiwan Fixed Network was scheduled to wrap up the deal between Monday and next Thursday, Juan said.
After the sale of 300 million Taiwan Mobile shares, Taiwan Fixed Network's holding of parent company will drop from 27 percent to 21 percent.
Foxconn stocks soar in HK
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康), the world's biggest contract manufacturer of mobile phones, set a Hong Kong trading record after customer Nokia Oyj reported sales and profit that beat analysts estimates.
Foxconn stock surged 17 percent to HK$14.52 (US$1.86), the biggest jump since the company was listed in February 2005. Before today, the Shenzhen-based company had declined 29 percent in Hong Kong trading this year.
Nokia, the world's biggest handset maker, yesterday reported its fourth-quarter profit increased 44 percent to 1.84 billion euros (US$2.7 billion) as sales rose at the fastest pace since 2000. Revenue jumped 34 percent after Nokia shipped a record 133.5 million mobile phones in the quarter.
Foxconn may derive 48 percent of sales from Nokia this year, Bear Stearns Co's analyst Jack Tse wrote in a report yesterday. The Finnish company overtook Motorola Inc to become Foxconn's largest customer last year, Tse said.
BYD Electronic (International) Co, a supplier of mobile-phone parts to customers including Nokia, climbed 9.1 percent to HK$11, the largest gain this year. Nokia accounted for 76 percent of BYD Electronic's sales in last year's first half, the Chinese company said in the prospectus for its listing last month.
Powertech shares gain
Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技), the Taiwanese memory-chip packaging provider whose investors include Intel Corp, saw its shares make their biggest gain in Taipei trading in two-and-a-half years after Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) raised its estimates for this year.
Powertech shares climbed by the daily limit of 7 percent, their largest increase since July 19, 2005, to NT$91.80.
Yesterday Fubon raised its profit forecast for Powertech this year to NT$14.93 a share from NT$14.36, and increased its sales estimate to NT$31.84 billion from NT$31.64 billion. The revision came after Powertech posted a 23 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit to NT$1.78 billion from a year earlier in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday advanced by NT$0.052 to trade at NT$32.30 against the greenback on turnover of US$932 million.
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
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
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
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