Shares slip after respite
Share prices continued their fall yesterday after a one-day respite, with the TAIEX sliding 54.14 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 7,640.44.
The bourse opened at 7,593.38 points and fluctuated between 7,649.73 and 7,481.90.
A total of 3.9 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$117.24 billion (US$3.69 billion). Foreign institutional investors and China qualified domestic institutional investors were net sellers of NT$10.59 billion in shares.
All eight major stock categories lost ground, with cement shares the biggest losers, falling by 1.2 percent. Losers outnumbered gainers 2,306 to 839, with 149 stocks remaining unchanged.
Chinese demand boosts PVC
Demand growth for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) remains high, partly because of China’s policy to construct houses in rural areas, Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) chairman Lee Chih-tsuen (李志村) said yesterday.
Sixty percent of PVC is used for construction purposes, such as piping and window frames.
The Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) is considering a US$1.7 billion investment in China to expand production of items including printed circuit boards, group chairman William Wong (王文淵) told reporters yesterday.
Shieh leaves Powerchip
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) president Brian Shieh (謝再居) has resigned his post to take up the position of chairman of Rexchip Electronics Co (瑞晶電子), its venture with Elpida Memory Inc, Powerchip said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Frank Huang (黃崇仁) will step down as Rexchip chairman and maintain in his role as chairman of Powerchip, Hsinchu-based Powerchip said.
ASE buys Shanghai land rights
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體), the world’s largest chip packaging and testing company, bought land rights in Shanghai’s Baoshan district for 681 million yuan (US$100 million), the Kaohsiung-based company said in an exchange filing yesterday.
Rival Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品精密), meanwhile, bought NT$553 million of equipment from Kulicke and Soffa Global Holding Corp, the Taichung-based company said in a separate exchange filing yesterday.
Yuanta buys Solartech shares
Yuanta Financial Holding Co’s (元大金控) venture capital unit bought NT$25 million of Solartech Energy Corp (昇陽光電) shares, the Taipei-based company said in a stock exchange filing yesterday.
Separately, E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) plans to sell NT$4 billion of unsecured corporate bonds of between seven to 10 years maturity, the Taipei-based company said in stock exchange filing on Thursday. The proceeds will be used to strengthen working capital, the filing said.
Honda recalls two models
Honda Motor Co said yesterday it would recall a totalof 646,000 units of the Fit/Jazz and City models globally.
The recall covers the models sold in North America, South America, Europe, South Africa and Asia, but not Japan, a spokeswoman said.
Honda said the recall was to fix a defective master switch, which could cause water to enter the power window switch and in some cases cause a fire.
There were three reported cases of fires due to the defect, two in the US and one in South Africa, the spokeswoman said.
NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.009 to close at NT$31.990. Turnover was US$851 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
SENSOR BUSINESS: The Taiwanese company said that a public tender offer would begin on May 7 through its wholly owned subsidiary Yageo Electronics Japan Yageo Corp (國巨), one of the world’s top three suppliers of passive components, yesterday said it is to launch a tender offer to fully acquire Japan’s Shibaura Electronics Co for up to ¥65.57 billion (US$429.37 million), with an aim to expand its sensor business. The tender offer would be a crucial step for the company to expand its sensor business, Yageo said. Shibaura Electronics is the world’s largest supplier of thermistors, with a market share of 13 percent, research conducted in 2022 by the Japanese firm showed. If a deal goes ahead, it would be the second acquisition of a sensor business since