Shares close flat
Taiwanese shares closed flat yesterday after selling had offset early gains sparked by a rebound on Wall Street, dealers said.
The TAIEX index edged down 1.19 points, or 0.02 percent, to 6,788.58 on turnover of NT$70.56 billion (US$2.14 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 1,103 to 970, while 211 stocks were unchanged.
“The overnight Wall Street rebound led to the early gains, but it did little help to the weak market,” which has been haunted by the tumble of Chinese markets over the past two weeks, Capital Securities (群益證券) analyst Chen Yu-yu (陳育娛) said.
The thin trade signaled that investors chose to stay on the sidelines, Chen said, adding that he expected the market to seek support at a range of 6,600-6,700 in the coming week and may test 6,300-6,400 within a month.
Housing market suffers glut
The housing market in northern Taiwan is experiencing a glut and it may take another 18 months for the region’s developers to sell newly built homes, the Chinese-language Housing Monthly reported yesterday.
The monthly said that vacant homes in Keelung and Taipei City and Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties numbered 41,791 units as of the middle of this year, with a total value of NT$376 billion (US$11.4 billion).
On average, the monthly said the housing sector closes NT$220 billion in property sales a year and that it would therefore take another 18 months or more for developers to close deals even if new housing projects are not launched.
Garmin-Asus phone launches
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday launched a Garmin-Asus brandname smartphone in conjunction with Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
The nuvifone M20, which uses location-based service (LBS) technology, is available at retail stores for NT$17,900 (US$543) as a stand-alone unit.
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) said the company would donate 10,000 units to rescue crew in the disaster area damaged by Typhoon Morakot.
Chunghwa may offer use of the phone for free through various package deals next month, said Hu Hsueh-hai (胡學海), managing director of Chunghwa’s mobile business group.
Trade group buys big
A Chinese trade group, including Chongqing Hybest Air Tools Co (重慶弘願工具) and 54 other companies, plans to buy about US$900 million in goods from Taiwan, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said in a statement yesterday.
The companies would purchase machinery, chemical products, electronic goods, automobile parts and textiles, the statement said.
Cash-for-clunker TVs
Japan’s Sony Corp yesterday launched a scheme in Britain to encourage cash-strapped consumers to swap old TVs for new ones in a plan that mirrors worldwide car scrappage initiatives.
Sony said in a statement that it would offer customers reductions of as much as £150 (US$246) off the price of some of its new TVs — in return for aging models.
“The campaign itself offers customers the advantages of swapping old for new rather than simply throwing away — encouraging old televisions to be responsibly disposed of,” Sony UK spokesman Matt Coombe said.
NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.046 to close at NT$33.010.
A total of US$925 million changed hands during trading.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
RSS