TAIEX closes up 0.52%
The TAIEX closed up 0.52 percent yesterday to stand above the 9,100-point mark, led by the electronics sector, as investors were cheered by a fresh high of more than two years on Wall Street overnight, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 46.74 points to 9,102.33, after moving between 9,092.97 and 9,126.93, on turnover of NT$140.69 billion (US$4.85 billion).
The market opened up 0.55 percent, breaching the latest 9,100 point technical resistance barrier, and continued to move to the day’s high before some profit-taking set in to compromise the gains, the dealers said.
Large-cap high-tech stocks extended momentum from the previous session on the strength of their counterparts on Wall Street and gains posted by the American depositary receipts (ADRs) of local electronics firms, they said.
A total of 2,227 stocks closed up, 2,067 finished down, and 523 remained unchanged.
Mega’s China branch approved
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday approved the application by Mega International Bank (兆豐國際商銀), the banking subsidiary of Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), to upgrade its representative office in Suzhou, China, into a branch.
The move made the state-run lender the first beneficiary of the early-harvest list under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement signed in June last year to upgrade its representative office in less than the one-year normally required, the commission said.
So far, six Taiwanese banks have opened branch offices in different parts of China with a view to serving Taiwanese clients based there.
Central bank to auction CDs
The central bank will auction NT$100 billion worth of 364-day certificates of deposit (CD) and negotiable certificates of deposit (NCD) on Feb. 10 in yet another attempt to drain excess liquidity, the monetary policymaker said in a statement yesterday.
Financial institutions including banks, credit cooperatives, bills finance companies and Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政) are invited to join in the auction, the statement said. The CDs and NCDs will be delivered on Feb. 11.
Since 2009, the central bank has auctioned longer-dated CDs and NCDs to help mop up idle funds that have been blamed for creating asset bubble pressure.
Run Run Shaw selling stake
Television Broadcasts Ltd co- founder Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫) is selling most of his stake in Hong Kong’s biggest TV company to investors, putting an end to speculation of a takeover battle.
Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd (邵氏兄弟香港), owned by the 103-year old Shaw, will dispose of its 26 percent holding to ITC Corp (德祥企業) chairman Charles Chan (陳國強), Cher Wang (王雪紅) and Providence Equity Partners, TVB said on Wednesday. Wang is chairwoman of Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電).
Shaw’s foundation will also sell its 6.23 percent interest to independent third parties, the company known as TVB said, without giving price details.
NT dollar little changed
The New Taiwan dollar was little changed after approaching a 13-year high on suspected intervention by the central bank.
The NT dollar was trading 0.9 percent stronger two minutes prior to the 4pm close before the bank stepped in, according to traders.
The NT dollar closed at NT$29.31 against its US counterpart, compared with NT$29.3 on Wednesday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The currency reached NT$29.006 on Jan. 13, the strongest level since October 1997.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective