Investors wait on Apple results
The TAIEX retreated yesterday in thin trading as many investors took to the sidelines as they waited for Apple Inc’s quarterly results to be released later that day, dealers said.
Old economy stocks also failed to stage a technical rebound from their recent slump, keeping the broader market in negative territory, they said.
The weighted index closed down 14.92 points, or 0.19 percent, at 7,744.18, on turnover of NT$62.68 billion (US$2.16 billion).
Steel stocks receive boost
Local steel stocks got a boost yesterday after China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co (寶鋼) raised product prices for the second time in a month, paving the way for Taiwanese steel makers to follow suit, strengthening their bottom lines, dealers said.
On Tuesday, Baoshan announced it would increase prices for contracts in March by between 100 yuan (US$16.08) and 220 yuan per tonne, or 3.92 percent on average.
Among the companies whose stock posted gains was China Steel Corp (中鋼), its shares climbing 0.74 percent to close at NT$27.20 (US$0.94), Yieh Hsing Enterprises Co (燁興), which gained 7 percent to NT$7.60 and Chien Shing Stainless Steel Co (千興) which also finished up 7 percent at NT$4.74.
Job market reform needed: Yiin
Taiwan’s unemployment is mainly the result of a structural problem where factories cannot recruit enough basic-level workers and university graduates are unable to find jobs fitting their education, Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said on Tuesday.
Yiin made the remarks after the latest government data showed that the unemployment rate had dropped to 4.18 percent last month and finished at 4.24 percent for the whole of last year.
Fixing this structural problem requires reform of the relevant systems, including strengthening links between vocational education and industry, so that students find jobs when they graduate, he added.
Wi-Fi group to open new branch
The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global non-profit industry association, will open a branch office in Taipei today to provide market and technical support to alliance member companies.
Wi-Fi Alliance president and CEO, Edgar Figueroa, is to present the alliance’s plans for cooperation with its local partners and the development of Wi-Fi technology, an invitation e-mailed to the media said.
Taiwanese companies in the alliance include computer makers Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), contract laptop maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), networking equipment maker ZyXEL Communications Corp (合勤科技) and chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科).
Bond auction successful
The yield of the government’s 20-year Treasury bonds reached 1.605 percent in an auction yesterday, higher than the 1.58 percent recorded in the previous sale of 20-year bonds in November last year, which had been the lowest on record, the central bank said in a statement.
Yesterday’s sale attracted bids for 1.42 times more than the NT$40 billion bonds on offer, less than the 1.73 times recorded last year, the statement said.
The banking sector was the biggest buyer of the bonds, purchasing 44.75 percent of the issuance.
NT dollar edges higher
The New Taiwan dollar closed higher against the US dollar yesterday, rising NT$0.003 to NT$29.092.
Turnover totaled US$662 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
Rick Cassidy, the chairman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's (TSMC, 台積電) US subsidiary, TSMC Arizona Corp, plans to retire, but the company has yet to name a successor. After Cassidy made his intention to retire known, TSMC Arizona held a special general meeting and approved a resolution that Cassidy would not continue as chairman and would not remain as a director, TSMC said in a statement filed with the Taiwan Stock Exchange last night. The meeting also approved a plan to appoint TSMC Arizona president Rose Castanares as a director, the company said, adding that Cassidy has been named as an advisor
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
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