TAIEX drops on HTC concerns
The TAIEX trended lower yesterday, falling below the 8,800 point mark, led by smartphone maker HTC (宏達電) amid worries over the company’s newly announced deal to acquire graphics chipset designer S3 Graphics Co, dealers said.
Other high-tech heavyweights — semiconductor firms, in particular — were also under pressure as concerns lingered over weakening global demand for the third quarter of this year, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 51.02 points or 0.58 percent at 8,773.42, after moving between 8,757.47 and 8,795.88, on turnover of NT$106.87 billion (US$3.71 billion).
Oil shipments fell in June
Taiwan purchased less crude oil last month after a fire at Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) cut demand. Crude shipments declined 24 percent from a year earlier to 22.8 million barrels last month, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Last month’s oil bill climbed 14 percent to US$2.58 billion, the ministry said in a statement.
The industrial group halted some plants at its Mailiao (麥寮) complex in Yunlin County after a fire on May 12.
Taiwan’s petroleum and coal-product output fell 13 percent in May from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on June 23.
Long-term debt worth trillions
The national debt amounted to NT$207,000 per person at the end of last month, down NT$4,000 from the end of May, the finance ministry said yesterday.
As of June 30, Taiwan’s long-term debt was NT$4.6085 trillion, while its short-term debt stood at NT$178.8 billion, the ministry said.
Since December last year, the MOF has been publishing a Web-based “National Debt Clock” monthly, mainly to remind government agencies to monitor their spending and thus help lower the national debt.
Land developer to sell shares
Taiwan Land Development Corp (台灣土地開發) plans to sell 150 million new shares at NT$12.5 each to raise NT$1.88 billion, it said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. The proceeds will be used to develop real estate projects and for investments, it said.
Powerchip reveals debt ratio
Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技), the nation’s second-biggest DRAM maker, said in a statement yesterday that its debt ratio was 75 percent as of the end of last month.
First bank eyes China deal
First Commercial Bank’s (第一銀行) board yesterday approved plans to sign a business cooperation agreement with China Construction Bank (中國建設銀行) to expand cross-strait banking services, according to a stock exchange filing issued by the lender’s parent, First Financial Holding Co (第一金控).
The bank said it would sign the pact with China Construction, one of China’s “Big Four,” after receiving the green light from the Financial Supervisory Commission, the filing showed.
China alters foreign cargo law
China will ban foreign companies, organizations and individuals from irregular-scheduled cargo sea transportation from Jan 1 next year, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday.
NT slips against greenback
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US currency yesterday, down NT$0.009 to close at NT$28.860. Dealers said the central bank intervened in late trade to reverse the losses posted by the US dollar.
Turnover totaled US$721 million during trading, up from US$606 million the previous session.
soft landing: The US’ rate-setting FOMC finds itself in a difficult situation as it seeks to address inflation through interest rate hikes while avoiding a recession The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a summer of mixed economic data, while leaving the door open to another hike if needed. The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times over the past 18 months, lifting its key lending rate to a level not seen for 22 years as it tackles inflation still stubbornly above its long-term target of 2 percent. Analysts and traders broadly expect the US central bank to hold rates steady on Wednesday in order to give policymakers more time to assess the health of the world’s largest economy. “We think
AI TREND: TSMC has been rapidly expanding capacity to meet a spike in demand for advanced packaging services, but still expects supplies to be tight for 18 months Arizona is in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) about advanced chip packaging, state Governor Katie Hobbs said yesterday, which is crucial for the manufacturing of artificial intelligence (AI) chips. TSMC, which is building a US$40 billion chip factory in the US state, has not announced plans to build facilities for advanced chip packaging in the US. Advanced packaging processes stitch multiple chips together into a single device, lowering the added cost of more powerful computing. “Part of our efforts at building the semiconductor ecosystem is focusing on advanced packaging, so we have several things in the works around that
At a sprawling South Korean arms factory on Friday, a high-tech production line of robots and super-skilled workers were rapidly churning out weapons that could, eventually, play a role in Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion last year, the Hanwha Aerospace factory in the southern city of Changwon has expanded production capacity three times, workers told reporters, as South Korea ramps up arms exports while traditional behemoths like the US struggle with production shortages. Longstanding domestic policy bars Seoul from selling weapons into active conflicts, but even so it signed deals worth US$17.3 billion last year, including a US$12.7 billion agreement with NATO
Tailwinds: Blockbuster earnings at Nvidia Corp have sparked hopes of a tech sector boom; Taiwanese chipmakers are hopeful benefits will come to them too The worst could be over for the New Taiwan dollar as China’s economic recovery and a rebound in the chip industry will support the beleaguered currency, analysts said. The NT dollar is on course to weaken for a sixth month, the longest stretch since 2006, after foreign funds turned sour on its technology sector and risk sentiment deteriorated on slower growth in China. The tide seems to be turning now on nascent signs of stabilization in China’s economy — its biggest trading partner — following policy boosts. The yuan emerged as the best-performing Asian currency last week, followed by the Japanese yen
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