TAIEX falls on US, EU losses
The TAIEX fell 0.80 percent yesterday, dragged down by Friday’s losses on Wall Street and European markets after a smaller-than-expected rise in US nonfarm payrolls last month.
However, shares of major industrial PC manufacturers moved up yesterday, as a referendum that approved a casino project on Matsu is expected to boost demand for such computers, dealers said.
International Games System Co (鈊象電子) gained 1.50 percent to end at NT$135, while Firich Enterprises Co (伍豐科技) rose 3.29 percent to end at NT$43.80.
The weighted index ranged between a high of 7,333.28 and a low of 7,293.11 before closing down 58.63 points at 7,309.96, falling below its quarterly moving average of 7,320.
Turnover was low at NT$58.38 billion (US$1.95 billion) amid global economic uncertainty, far below the NT$78.4 billion averaged per session last week.
A total of 1,265 stocks closed up and 2,480 finished down, while 474 remained unchanged.
Taiwan’s energy imports rise
Taiwan purchased more crude oil last month as demand was boosted by increased petrochemical production.
Shipments rose 6.7 percent from a year earlier to 24.4 million barrels last month, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The nation’s oil bill last month climbed 5.1 percent to US$2.71 billion, the ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Taiwan boosted imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) last month by 11 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Directorate General of Customs.
The purchases included four cargoes bought under immediate, or spot, contracts from Nigeria, Algeria and Norway, according to the data. The country imported 1.2 million tonnes of LNG including short and long-term cargoes last month, paying US$749 a tonne.
Sogo slams Chinese partners
Pacific Sogo Department Stores Co (太平洋崇光百貨) will hold a press conference today to expose “rapacious” bullying tactics employed by the company’s joint venture partners in China, the firm announced yesterday.
Sogo blasted its Chinese partners in department store ventures in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and in Dalian, Liaoning Province, for “defying contract spirit, interfering in operations by deliberately cutting off the electricity supply and arbitrarily raising the rent to force Taiwanese businesses to meet their demands.”
As there is no law in China that protects Taiwanese business interests, businesses frequently fall prey to “Chinese partners who violate the spirit of contract, taking what they want by force,” Sogo representatives said.
Sogo is the second Taiwanese department store to be involved in business disputes in China.
Asustek sales hit record high
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), the world’s No. 5 PC vendor and No. 1 motherboard maker, yesterday said its sales reached a record high of NT$36.02 billion last month, up 26.8 percent month-on-month and 27.5 percent year-on-year, according to a company statement.
In the second quarter, revenue totaled NT$94.26 billion, up 4 percent from the first quarter and up 22 percent from the same period of last year, while the number for the first half reached NT$173.47 billion, up 27.94 percent from a year earlier.
NT dollar drops vs greenback
The New Taiwan dollar dropped against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.053 to close at NT$29.975.
Turnover totaled US$563 million during the trading session.
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
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RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
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