TAIEX closes up 0.78%
The TAIEX closed up 0.78 percent yesterday, cheered by Wall Street gains on Friday and stronger Asian stock markets in the morning, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 60.74 points, to close at 7,890.95, after fluctuating between 7,841.83 and 7,902.56, on turnover of NT$127.78 billion (US$4.01 billion).
The market opened up 0.63 percent after Wall Street shares were boosted by positive job figures on Friday, with most local electronic shares performing quite well, dealers said.
A total of 2,497 stocks closed up and 1,299 down, with 337 remaining unchanged.
HTC revenues dip
HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s leading maker of smartphones, yesterday said revenues edged lower by 1.8 percent to NT$24.2 billion last month from July.
On an annual basis, last month’s revenues more than doubled from NT$11.23 billion in the same month of last year.
Cumulative consolidated revenues from January to last month were NT$ 147.7 billion, up 61.16 percent from last year.
HTC is forecast to hit NT$70 billion for third-quarter sales, and 70 percent of the target has been achieved judging from July’s and last month’s figures.
AmTRAN acquires loans
AmTRAN Technology Co (瑞軒科技) signed NT$3.8 billion of three-year syndicated loans with five banks, participating lender Mega Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行) said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
The maker of Vizio televisions will use the funds to repay debts and to strengthen medium-term working capital, according to the statement.
The other lenders include Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託商業銀行), E Sun Commercial Bank Ltd (玉山銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), and Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank Ltd ( 上海商業銀行).
Central bank issues CDs
The central bank issued NT$469.5 billion in certificates of deposit (CD) yesterday, less than the NT$474.9 billion that matured, it said in a statement on its Web site.
The central bank sold 30-day CDs at an interest rate of 0.63 percent, 91-day at 0.67 percent, and 182-day at 0.77 percent, according to the statement.
Talks to price iron monthly
The China Iron & Steel Association (中國鋼鐵工業協會) is in talks with iron ore producers seeking to price the raw material on a monthly basis, according to China Minmetals Corp (中國五礦公司), the People’s Republic of China’s biggest metals trader.
A move to monthly pricing from quarterly would increase the chance of Chinese steelmakers defaulting on contracts, Minmetals’s vice president Feng Guiquan (馮貴權) said yesterday at a conference in Beijing.
NT dollar up against greenback
The NT dollar gained the most in five weeks before data this week that economists forecast will show exports rose for a 10th successive month last month.
The currency rose for a fourth straight day after overseas investors bought US$221 million more shares than they sold yesterday, their biggest net purchase in more than a month.
The Ministry of Finance was due to announce today that overseas shipments increased 25 percent, compared with a gain of 38.5 percent in July, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The NT dollar climbed 0.2 percent to NT$31.95 against its US counterpart as of the 4pm close, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
The currency earlier rose as much as 0.5 percent, the most since last Thursday, to NT$31.86.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS