Investors stay on the sidelines
Cautious sentiment about inflation in China drove many investors to the sidelines yesterday as selling emerged in late trade in select stocks that have close business ties with China, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 8.48 points, or 0.09 percent, at 9,040.77, after moving between 9,021.36 and 9,099.75 on turnover of NT$131.95 billion (US$4.55 billion).
Ma invites Yahoo to set up HQ
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday invited Yahoo to set up an Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Taiwan, which he touted as the “center of East Asia.”
Ma said Taiwan was not inferior to Singapore, site of Yahoo’s regional headquarters for Southeast Asia.
“We have very strong competitiveness, especially in terms of our connections with Northeast Asia,” Ma said while receiving Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz.
He told Bartz that Taiwan wants to become the global headquarters of Taiwanese businesses and a regional headquarters for foreign-based multinational enterprises, as well as a world leader in innovation. Ma said Yahoo could assist Taiwan in achieving these goals.
He pointed to Taiwan’s geographical proximity to China, the world’s second-largest economy. In addition, Taiwan’s tax competitiveness has been sharpened significantly after the corporate income tax rate was cut from 25 percent to 17 percent last year to a level similar to that of Hong Kong and Singapore, he said.
Delta approves purchases
Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the world’s largest switching power supplier, yesterday reported a first-quarter net income of NT$3.1 billion, or NT$1.3 per share.
Sales were NT$40.2 billion, the company said in a statement.
The board also approved subsidiary Delta International Holding Ltd’s plans to purchase a 100 percent stake in Boom Treasure Ltd and Ace Pillar Holding Co, in a move to own the companies’ combined 28.8 percent stake in Delta Greentech (China) Co (中達電通).
After the transaction, Delta will indirectly own about 84 percent of Delta Greentech.
Hon Hai’s profits drop
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海), a contract manufacturer for Apple Inc’s iPhone and Hewlett-Packard Co computers, on Wednesday posted its largest drop in quarterly profit for two years after higher salaries added to costs.
Fourth-quarter net income dropped 26 percent to NT$21.4 billion, according to Bloomberg data based on full-year earnings from the Taipei-based company.
Consolidated fourth-quarter revenue climbed 56 percent to a record NT$947 billion. Full-year profit climbed 1.9 percent to NT$77.2 billion and consolidated revenue was 53 percent higher at NT$3 trillion.
Quarterly net income dropped 65 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 when the global financial crisis cut demand for computers and electronics.
NPL ratio hits new low
The nation’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio fell to a new low of 0.55 percent at the end of last month, from 0.58 percent at the end of February, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
Total bad loans amounted to NT$113.1 billion, shrinking NT$5.5 billion from the previous month, the commission said.
None of the nation’s 37 domestic lenders had a bad loan ratio above 2 percent of their overall lending, raising their average coverage ratio 10.04 percentage points to 172.35 percent, it said.
Profit shrinks at Macronix
Macronix International Co Ltd (旺宏電子) yesterday reported net profit of NT$1.06 billion in the first quarter, down 35 percent year-on-year and 5 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Gross margin dropped to 42 percent, compared with 47 percent a year ago and 54 percent the previous quarter, hitting the high end of the company’s previous estimate.
The company said revenue would drop to between NT$6.5 billion and NT$6.4 billion this quarter, from NT$6.57 billion last quarter, because of weakening demand for its ROM chips.
Gross margin would slide further to as low as 34 percent this quarter from last quarter’s 42 percent, it said.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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