Technology stocks lift TAIEX
The TAIEX closed up 1.37 percent yesterday, lifted by high-tech stocks that benefited from Apple Inc’s announcement of its latest tablet computer on Wednesday, dealers said.
The benchmark index closed 118.47 points higher at 8,738.37, after moving between 8,661.63 and 8,758.89, on turnover of NT$130.31 billion (US$4.4 billion).
Semiconductor and flat-panel stocks were also boosted by the government announcement on Wednesday on allowing Chinese firms to invest in these sectors.
A total of 2,960 stocks closed up, 1,427 finished down and 459 remained unchanged.
Carlyle to sell cable TV stake
The Carlyle Group is seeking to sell its stake in local cable TV network Eastern Broadcasting Co (東森電視) for between NT$17 billion and NT$20 billion, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported, without saying where it got the information.
The US private equity firm in 2006 acquired stakes in a collective purchase of Eastern Broadcasting, Eastern Multimedia and Eastern Home Shopping Network (東森得易購) for NT$48 billion to NT$50 billion.
ICBC to offer more loans
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC, 中國工商銀行) will increase loans to Taiwanese companies in China, as part of its support for the government’s target to help small and medium-sized enterprises in China, bank president Yang Kaisheng (楊凱生) said in Beijing yesterday.
Meanwhile, China will actively promote cross-strait cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with Taiwan (ECFA), according to the text of a speech to be delivered yesterday by Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, in Beijing.
Chinese solar firms eye Africa
Chinese solar power producers are trying to attract more clients in Africa, where nearly two-thirds of the population lives off the electric grid.
Organizers of the African Energy Indaba in Johannesburg said yesterday that 60 of 80 stands at the conference were Chinese vendors.
By contrast, Germany, the leader in solar energy in the West, sent only representatives from its chamber of commerce.
Shenzhen Xunlei plans US IPO
Shenzhen Xunlei Network Technology Ltd (深圳迅雷網路技術), a Chinese video and music file-sharing company partly owned by Google Inc, is planning to raise about US$200 million in an initial public offering (IPO) in the US this year, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
The company has hired underwriters including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Deutsche Bank AG for its IPO, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans aren’t public.
Xunlei had about 190 million online video users at the end of last year and also offers other Web services, including games.
Aviva plans asset sales
Aviva, Britain’s No. 2 insurer, said yesterday it could sell assets this year as part of a plan to concentrate on the countries where it was best established.
CEO Andrew Moss said the firm would focus more closely on its most profitable markets, at the expense of other territories.
“We are going to focus on and invest in 12 key markets; and on the positive side, you will see that investment in those markets,” he told reporters on a conference call.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar rose NT$0.123 to close at NT$29.542 on turnover of US$659 million yesterday.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
RSS