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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
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Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
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