TAIEX down 1.22 percent
The TAIEX closed down 1.22 percent yesterday, joining other Asian markets in a recent fall amid higher international oil prices, dealers said.
The local bourse closed 107.12 points lower, ending at 8,642.90, after moving between 8,635.75 and 8,754.41 on turnover of NT$117.275 billion (US$3.976 billion).
A total of 1,279 stocks closed up, 3,125 were down and 374 remained unchanged.
Many businesses mull raises
More than 30 percent of businesses in Taiwan are willing to raise their employees’ salaries, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“Hopefully, more businesses will consider giving pay raises, and with higher increases,” Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said to reporters after a legislative session.
According to a survey conducted by the ministry in late January, 52 percent of large corporations were willing to raise salaries, but fewer small and medium-sized enterprises would follow suit.
The pay raises could average 3 to 4 percent, the survey showed.
3M, Quanta to set up venture
3M Co and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) will set up a Singapore-based venture to make projected capacitive touch solutions, Quanta said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Ruen Chen gives documents
Ruen Chen Investment Holding Co (潤成投資) yesterday submitted more documents related to its application to buy American International Group Inc’s (AIG) Taiwanese life insurance unit, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement.
Ruen Chen on Feb. 10 applied to the regulator to acquire 97.57 percent of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽). AIG in January agreed to sell a 97.57 percent stake in Nan Shan to Ruen Chen for US$2.16 billion.
Compal revenues drop 37%
Taiwan’s second-largest notebook contract maker, Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶), saw last month’s revenue drop 37 percent year-on-year to NT$43.57 billion (US$1.48 billion).
It said in a statement yesterday that on a month-on-month basis, the decline was 18.5 percent, attributing the drop to the recall of flawed Sandy Bridge chipsets from Intel Corp.
Compal’s notebook shipments hit a two-year low to 2.7 million units, down 18 percent from January, it said.
China Steel mulls India plant
China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s largest steelmaker, might build a steel coil facility in India, executive vice president David Du (杜金陵) said yesterday.
The Kaohsiung-based company plans to a total investment of NT$200 billion over the next four years, including spending on projects in Taiwan and Vietnam, vice president K.H. Chang (張景星) said.
TPK hires Nomura, JPMorgan
TPK Holding Co (宸鴻), a supplier of touch-panels for Apple Inc’s iPad, has hired Nomura Holdings Inc and JPMorgan Chase to arrange a US$400 million convertible bond issue.
TPK aims to complete the sale by the end of June and will list the notes in Singapore, chief financial officer Freddie Liu (劉詩亮) said in a phone interview yesterday.
Funds will be used to expand factories and buy equipment, the Taipei-based company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.
NT dollar dips NT$0.111
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, down NT$0.111, to close at NT$29.506.
Turnover totaled US$1.071 billion during the trading session.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
ELECTRONICS: Strong growth in cloud services and smart consumer electronics offset computing declines, helping the company to maintain sales momentum, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday announced that its sales for last month rose 10 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), reported consolidated sales of NT$540.24 billion (US$18.67 billion) for the month, the highest ever for the period, and a 10.09 percent increase from a year earlier, although it was down 12.26 percent from the previous month. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said its cloud
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