Sat, Aug 04, 2012 page14

• [ BUSINESS BRIEFS ]

  • Staff writer, with Agencies
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  Eurozone hampers market

  The stock market pulled back yesterday as the European Central Bank (ECB) failed to meet market expectations to come up with concrete measures to take on the eurozone’s debt problems, dealers said.

  Select large-cap technology stocks encountered heavier downward pressure, led by Hon Hai Precision Industry (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, amid lingering concerns over weakening global demand, they said.

  The weighted index closed down 50.45 points, or 0.69 percent, at 7,217.51, on turnover of NT$77.79 billion (US$2.59 billion).

  DRAM firms’ sales mixed

  Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation’s top DRAM chipmaker, yesterday said last month’s revenue fell 21.2 percent to NT$2.58 billion, compared with NT$3.27 billion in June, on dwindling end demand for PCs.

  Shipments slipped 15 percent and average sales prices dropped 3 percent to 5 percent month-on-month, the chipmaker said.

  On an annual basis, revenue grew 9.8 percent from NT$2.35 billion.

  Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技), a DRAM chip joint venture between Nanya and US memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc, also saw revenue decrease 7.2 percent month-on-month to NT$3.04 billion last month from NT$3.27 billion in June. That was a 2 percent growth from NT$2.98 billion a year ago.

  However, memory chipmaker Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技), said that its revenue grew by 2.9 percent last month to NT$2.72 billion, compared with the NT$2.64 billion seen in the prior month, supported by growing contract chip-making business.

  That was a 30 percent contraction from NT$3.91 billion a year ago.

  Wintek shares move upwards

  Shares of touch panel maker Wintek Corp (勝華) bucked the downtrend of the broader market yesterday, closing higher after the company reported a more than 60 percent increase in sales for last month, dealers said.

  The revenue increase prompted many bargain hunters to take advantage of the stock’s relatively low valuation after recent consolidation, but investors have been advised to keep a close eye on price competition in the global touch panel industry, dealers said.

  Shares of Wintek rose 7 percent, the maximum daily increase, to close at NT$14.30, with 68.37 million shares changing hands.

  EU urges to keep wages down

  Taiwan should take into consideration its competitiveness as an investment destination when it is mulling a minimum wage increase, the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) has advised.

  “It is for the government to set an appropriate level for the minimum wage,” ECCT president Chris James said on Thursday.

  “However, in setting the rate the government should take into account the need for Taiwan to compete with other countries in the region for investment,” he added.

  Council of Labor Affairs Minister Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄) has said on several occasions over the past month that her office plans to raise the minimum hourly wage by about 11 percent, from NT$103 to NT$115.

  NT dollar loses ground

  The New Taiwan dollar declined against the US dollar yesterday, down NT$0.014 to close at NT$30.002 as the local currency followed a weakening euro to move lower against the greenback, dealers said.

  Turnover totaled US$663 million during the trading session.
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