US jobs data boost TAIEX
The TAIEX rose yesterday, reflecting gains on Wall Street overnight and in other regional markets after the US reported better-than-expected service sector data, dealers said.
Market sentiment was also lifted to some extent by a decision by G7 leaders to make concerted efforts to deal with the financial crisis in the eurozone, they said.
The weighted index closed up 55.70 points, or 0.80 percent, at 7,056.15, after moving between 7,004.40 and 7,076.28, on turnover of NT$65.70 billion (US$2.20 billion).
Grand Ocean shares fall
Shares of Grand Ocean Retail Group Ltd (大洋百貨), a China-based department store chain operator, fell below their issue price yesterday, the first day of their primary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, amid concerns over a slowdown in the Chinese economy, dealers said.
The shares fell 0.42 percent from their initial listing price of NT$120 to end at NT$119.50, with 8.19 million shares changing hands.
The stock opened at the day’s high of NT$127.00 and selling dragged the price into negative territory toward the end of the session, the dealers said.
WTO head to speak in Taipei
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy will speak via videoconference at an international conference to be held in Taipei tomorrow to mark 10 years of Taiwan’s participation in the WTO.
Lamy’s speech will focus on the changing landscape of world trade and its future challenges and opportunities, according to the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, which is organizing the conference.
The institution said the conference would review the progress and changes that have taken place in the 10 years since Taiwan’s accession into the WTO on Jan. 1, 2002, and discuss the experiences of various countries in coping with the global economic situation.
Chengdu Taiwan fair opens
A four-day trade fair showcasing over 30,000 Taiwanese products will open today in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province, the organizers said yesterday.
The trade fair, which will showcase more than 500 exhibitors manning 1,300 booths, will feature zones dedicated to cultural and creative offerings, energy-saving products, Taiwanese tea, clothing and accessories, sportswear, biotech cosmetics and produce.
The show is being organized by the non-profit Taiwan External Trade Development Council and the Sichuan Provincial Government. To introduce Chengdu residents to Taiwanese specialties, the produce zone will showcase snacks and drinks characteristic of Taiwan, including pearl milk tea, sun cakes and pineapple
Taipower reports cost overruns
The suspension of a reactor at Taiwan’s No. 2 nuclear power plant has led to cost overruns of NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) per day, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) chairman Hwang Jung-chiou(黃重球) said on Tuesday.
Taipower now has over-expenditures totaling more than NT$3 billion since the end of April, when the reactor was scheduled to resume operations after a 45-day annual maintenance suspension, Huang said.
Apart from the NT$3 billion in cost overruns, Taipower had accumulated losses of NT$176.6 billion as of the end of last month, after years of selling electricity below cost.
NT dollar rises slightly
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.065 to close at NT$29.935.
Turnover totaled US$697 million during the trading session.
POWERING UP: PSUs for AI servers made up about 50% of Delta’s total server PSU revenue during the first three quarters of last year, the company said Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) reported record-high revenue of NT$161.61 billion (US$5.11 billion) for last quarter and said it remains positive about this quarter. Last quarter’s figure was up 7.6 percent from the previous quarter and 41.51 percent higher than a year earlier, and largely in line with Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co’s (元大投顧) forecast of NT$160 billion. Delta’s annual revenue last year rose 31.76 percent year-on-year to NT$554.89 billion, also a record high for the company. Its strong performance reflected continued demand for high-performance power solutions and advanced liquid-cooling products used in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers,
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
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