Shares rise on extended buying
Taiwanese shares closed up 1.04 percent yesterday on extended buying after Wall Street posted gains for the fourth consecutive day, dealers said.
The TAIEX index rose 70.69 points to 6,850.99 on turnover of NT$133.07 billion (US$4.04 billion). Gainers led losers 1,554 to 735 with 190 stocks unchanged.
The market opened up 1.06 percent as investors took the lead from further gains on Wall Street overnight, helping the index breach the 6,800 point mark, dealers said.
“The better than expected Intel quarterly results continued to weigh in the local bourse,” Grand Cathay Securities (大華證券) analyst Mars Hsu said.
“Encouraged by a stronger NASDAQ, investors here seemed to have turned upbeat about the outlook of the global high tech sector for the third quarter,” Hsu said. “But, the room for further upside is limited as the index moves closer to the stiff resistance at around the key 7,000 point level.”
CPC to cut fuel prices
State-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and its private rival Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday they would cut prices of gasoline and diesel products by NT$0.4 and NT$0.5 per liter respectively. The new prices took effect last night for Formosa, and today for CPC.
After the adjustment, CPC’s price for a liter of 98-octane unleaded gasoline is NT$29.2. The price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline is NT$27.7 and 92-octane unleaded gasoline is NT$27.0 per liter. Diesel is NT$24.3 per liter.
Taipower orders CSBC vessels
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (CSBC, 台灣國際造船), the nation’s largest ship builder, obtained another government order yesterday. State-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) placed an order for four 93,300 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) coal transporting container vessels valued at NT$6 billion.
Combined with last week’s NT$3.2 billion order for two 40,000 TEU oil tankers from CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油), CSBC has secured a total of NT$9.2 billion from the two state firms so far this year. Both orders are expected to deliver in 2011.
Wistron plans China investment
Local contract notebook maker Wistron Corp (緯創) plans to invest US$100 million into Wistron InfoComm (Taizhou) Co (緯創資通泰州) in China over the next three years in expectation of strong expansion in the notebook market.
The company’s board also approved a reduction in dividend payout from NT$1,080 to NT$982.8 per 1,000 common shares and a stock distribution decrease from 108 shares to 98.28 shares per 1,000 common shares. The ex-dividend date for Wistron stock is Aug. 4.
Chinese firms buy Taiwanese
Visiting Chinese retailers placed orders for US$146 million of goods from Taiwan this week, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said in a statement yesterday.
The Chinese companies will spend an additional US$600 million in Taiwan in the next year, TAITRA chairman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) said yesterday. Chinese representatives arrived last Sunday to meet suppliers.
Hefei Department Store Group Co (合肥百貨) signed a supply agreement with Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), said the Association of Trade and Economic Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, which leads the Chinese trade group.
NT dollar edges up
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, edging up NT$0.004 to close at NT$32.955. Turnover was US$544 million.
Contract chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) yesterday said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polar Semiconductor LLC to collaborate on the production of 8-inch wafers in the US. The collaboration aims to strengthen 8-inch wafer manufacturing in the US amid Washington’s efforts to increase onshore manufacturing of semiconductors, contribute to supply chain resilience against shifting geopolitical dynamics, and ensure a secure domestic supply of power semiconductors critical to automotive, electric grids, robotic manufacturing and data centers, the companies said in a joint statement. Under the MOU, Polar and UMC will identify devices for Polar to manufacture at
TECH TITANS: Amazon’s latest chip joins Google in competing for the 90 percent market share held by Nvidia, which claims it is ‘a generation ahead of the industry’ Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday launched its in-house-built Trainium3 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, marking a significant push to compete with Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market for AI computing power. The move intensifies competition in the AI chip market, where Nvidia dominates with an estimated 80 to 90 percent market share for products used in training large language models that power the likes of ChatGPT. Google last week caused tremors in the industry when it was reported that Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc would employ Google AI chips in data centers, signaling new competition for Nvidia. This followed the release last month of
INSULATED: The company said it is less exposed to global complications, as it has built a strong footprint worldwide, and has multiple sources of rare earths and raw minerals Merck Group yesterday said it would ramp up production next year at its new flagship facility in Kaohsiung’s Lujhu District (路竹) to satisfy growing demand for advanced semiconductor materials and specialty gases, and to address supply resilience issues amid mounting geopolitical risks. Merck made the remarks during a news conference before the inauguration of its 500 million euros (US$582.1 million) facility, which is also to supply other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, it said. Merck executive board deputy chair and electronics CEO Kai Beckmann told reporters the company adopted a “local-for-local” strategy about seven years ago to address the cycle time of
Two companies wholly owned by the daughter of the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Monday reported to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that they would dispose of all of the Hon Hai shares they hold. In filings with the exchange, Hong Wei Investment Co (鋐維) said it would sell the 2.771 million Hon Hai shares it holds and Frontier Investment Corp (承鋒投資) said it would sell its 2.409 million Hon Hai shares from tomorrow until Jan. 3 next year. The two companies are wholly owned and chaired by Shirley Gou (郭曉玲), the eldest daughter of Hon Hai founder Terry
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