TAIEX trending up
The inflow of foreign capital helped Taiwan’s benchmark index push back above the 7,900-point level yesterday, continuing its upward trend since the end of the Lunar New Year holiday period late last month.
The TAIEX opened slightly higher, but moved to the day’s low of 7,837.58 in early trading. It returned to positive territory at about 10am and later touched a high of 7,917.96, before closing up 50.64 points, or 0.64 percent, at 7,912.91 on turnover of NT$136.29 billion (US$4.62 billion).
MOEA denies rate hikes
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) denied reports yesterday of impending utility rate hikes, saying there was no timetable for such increases.
Media reports of higher domestic gas rates for this month were “simply based on speculation,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We’ve been studying the matter in a cautious and well-advised manner, since such issues have a great impact [on people’s lives],” Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said.
The government’s discussions would take into consideration the economy, society and the financial situation of utility companies, he said.
Wowprime IPO postponed
The initial public offering (IPO) of Wowprime Corp (王品), which owns 11 restaurant brands in Taiwan and China, has been postponed until early next month from Feb. 21 as planned.
According to Chinese-language online news outlet Cnyes.com yesterday, the stock exchange authority has asked Wowprime to provide more information on its financial performance in China because its IPO requires consolidated financial data from both markets.
In China, Wowprime has a presence in 15 cities with the offerings of two brands — Wang Steak (王品) and Tasty (西堤) — and is targeting seven other Chinese cities this year, the Web site reported. Wowprime also plans to roll out its third brand “12 Sabu” (石二鍋) by the end of the year, the report said.
Japanese group to sign MOU
Business representatives from Taiwan and Japan will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) today in Taipei with the aim of boosting their countries’ economies, according to the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院).
The memorandum would serve as the basis for investment cooperation and technological exchanges between small and medium-sized enterprises on both sides, CIER said in a statement.
The signing of the MOU is one of the items on the agenda of a 30-member Japanese delegation that arrived in Taiwan yesterday and is visiting until Thursday. The Japanese delegation is led by Fukui Prefecture Governor Issei Nishikawa. Fukui’s trade activity focuses on the export of textiles, machinery and eyewear, and imports of aluminum ore and machinery.
Lite-On CEO heads unit
Local electronics component maker Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技) yesterday announced that Lite-On Group (光寶集團) chief executive officer Warren Chen (陳廣中) has been appointed to serve as Lite-On Technology chief executive.
Meanwhile, K.C. Terng (滕光中) will serve as Lite-On Group vice chief executive, the company said in a statement. Both appointments were effective as of yesterday, it said.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, rising NT$0.025 to close at NT$29.535 on turnover of US$586 million.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
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