TAIEX into negative territory
The TAIEX yesterday closed lower as investors locked in the earlier gains, pushing the index into negative territory, dealers said.
Profit taking was focused on the high-tech sector, wiping out the rebound by large-cap stocks such as local suppliers to Apple Inc and flat-panel makers, dealers said.
Selling also extended to the old economy sector, which added to the downward pressure on the wider market, they said.
The weighted index closed down 83.79 points, or 1.09 percent, at 7,616.64, on turnover of NT$94.31 billion (US$3.25 billion).
Japanese homes gain popularity
Taiwanese buyers are becoming more interested in Japan’s property market as the Japanese yen has declined by nearly 10 percent over the past two months, a real- estate agent said yesterday.
The Japan office of Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) has received more than 200 calls in the past two weeks from Taiwan asking about properties for sale in Japan, said Lin Yan-hong (林彥宏), head of the branch.
Lin said the weakening of the Japanese currency over the past two months has resulted in lower property prices for overseas buyers, including Taiwanese.
For example, a property that cost US$638,050 two months ago would now cost about US$569,430, as the yen dropped to ￥89.67 against the US dollar on Monday, the lowest level since June 2010, Lin said.
The agency has shown Japanese properties to about 70 potential Taiwanese buyers in recent weeks, he said.
New Kinpo predicts growth
Electronics conglomerate New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團) yesterday predicted a higher annual revenue growth for this year than last year amid a recovery in the global economy.
The group reported revenue increased by 6.6 percent to US$6.62 billion last year and expected sales to grow at an even higher rate this year, group chairman Rock Hsu (許勝雄) said.
New Kinpo includes three main subsidiaries — calculator manufacturer Kinpo Electronics Inc (金寶), LED lighting supplier AcBel Polytech Inc (康舒) and Cal-Comp Electronics and Communications Co (泰金寶), which makes printers, hard disk drives and LCD TVs.
Nexus 7 best seller in Japan
The Nexus 7 tablet computer, co-branded by Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and US Web titan Google Inc, became the best seller in Japan last month, ending the reign of Apple Inc that started with the launch of the iPad in May 2010.
The 7-inch mobile device accounted for 44.4 percent of Japan’s tablet sales last month, beating the 40.1 percent for the iPad to give it first place among all vendors, according to Japan’s BCN sales rankings, released on Wednesday.
MOEA to join services talks
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on Wednesday said it would send a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, at the end of the month to attend international talks on services.
The ministry was referring to negotiations on the International Services Agreement in the wake of notification of the US Congress on Tuesday by US Trade Representative Ron Kirk that the US government intends to enter negotiations on a new trade agreement with a group of 20 trading partners, including Taiwan, the EU and Japan.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday closed higher against the US dollar, advancing NT$0.014 to close at NT$29.085.
Turnover totaled US$643 million during the trading session.
INVESTOR RESILIENCE? An analyst said that despite near-term pressures, foreign investors tend to view NT dollar strength as a positive signal for valuation multiples Morgan Stanley has flagged a potential 10 percent revenue decline for Taiwan’s tech hardware sector this year, as a sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar begins to dent the earnings power of major exporters. In what appears to be the first such warning from a major foreign brokerage, the US investment bank said the currency’s strength — fueled by foreign capital inflows and expectations of US interest rate cuts — is compressing profit margins for manufacturers with heavy exposure to US dollar-denominated revenues. The local currency has surged about 10 percent against the greenback over the past quarter and yesterday breached
MARKET FACTORS: Navitas Semiconductor Inc said that Powerchip is to take over from TSMC as its supplier of high-voltage gallium nitride chips Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday in a statement said that it would phase out its compound semiconductor gallium nitride (GaN) business over the next two years, citing market dynamics. The decision would not affect its financial targets announced previously, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker said. “We are working closely with our customers to ensure a smooth transition and remain committed to meeting their needs during this period,” it said. “Our focus continues to be on delivering sustained value to our partners and the market.” TSMC’s latest move came unexpectedly, as the chipmaker had said in its annual report that it has
SECURITY WARNING: The company possesses key 3-nanometer technology, and Taiwan should prevent it from being transferred to China, a lawmaker said The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it would conduct a “strict review” of any proposed acquisition of Taiwanese tech company Source Photonics Co (索爾思光電), following media reports that a Chinese firm was planning to buy the company in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區). Local media reported that Suzhou Dongshan Precision Manufacturing Co (東山精密), China’s largest printed circuit board manufacturer, had announced plans to acquire Source Photonics for 5.9 billion yuan (US$823.1 million). The ministry said it has not received an application from Source Photonics and has formally notified the company that any buyout would constitute a change in its ownership structure. The
ELECTRONICS: Strong growth in cloud services and smart consumer electronics offset computing declines, helping the company to maintain sales momentum, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday announced that its sales for last month rose 10 percent year-on-year, driven by strong growth in cloud and networking products amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company, also known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), reported consolidated sales of NT$540.24 billion (US$18.67 billion) for the month, the highest ever for the period, and a 10.09 percent increase from a year earlier, although it was down 12.26 percent from the previous month. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said its cloud
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