Shares extend losses
Shares in Taiwan extended their losses yesterday as the electronics sector remained weak following the decline posted by the tech-heavy NASDAQ index in New York overnight, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 23.41 points, or 0.30 percent, at 7,672.58, on turnover of NT$67.78 billion (US$2.33 billion).
Vizio aims to boost TV sales
Vizio Inc founding chairman William Wang (王蔚) yesterday said the US TV brand aimed to sell more than 6.5 million units of slim-screen TVs this year, up by about 14 percent from the 5.7 million units sold last year.
Wang made the remarks during an annual party held by one of its local manufacturing partners Amtran Technology Co (瑞軒科技).
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) also makes flat-panel TVs for Vizio.
This year, Vizio has added BestBuy to its existing sales channels, Costco, Target and Amazon, which would help boost sales, Wang said.
Vizio, the largest TV brand in the US, has a strong interest in tapping into the smartphone market after starting to sell tablets last year, Wang said.
Demand boosts M1B and M2
Annual growth in monetary aggregates M1B and M2 last month expanded from a month earlier amid stronger demand because of the Lunar New Year holiday and net foreign capital inflows, the central bank said yesterday.
M1B, a narrow measure of the money supply in circulation, rose 4.91 percent from a year ago, up from a 3.65 percent year-on-year increase in November last year, the bank said.
The broader M2 monetary measurement — which includes M1B, time deposits, foreign currency deposits and mutual funds — increased 3.67 percent year-on-year last month, up from a 3.26 percent growth rate in November last year, data showed.
For the whole of last year, the average annual growth rates of M1B and M2 were 3.47 percent and 4.17 percent respectively, with the growing level for M2 in line with the target zone between 2.5 percent and 6.5 percent set by the central bank.
HTC expects ‘golden cross’
HTC Corp’s (宏達電) 5-inch flagship model HTC J Butterfly is likely to overtake Apple Inc’s iPhone 5 in Taiwan this month, shooting to the top of the best-seller list, an HTC executive said on Thursday.
“As long as we can meet the strong demand in the local market, we’ll be able to see ‘a golden cross’ of the sales figures of the two popular products by the end of January,” HTC North Asia president Jack Tong (董俊良) said on the sidelines of a product launch.
Sales of the HTC J Butterfly for January are expected to triple from December last year, he said.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan’s largest mobile provider, has complained that it is short in supply of HTC J Butterfly, as customer orders for the phone have reached 40,000 units.
US dollar propped up
The New Taiwan dollar dropped against the US dollar yesterday, shedding NT$0.112 to NT$29.250 in expanded turnover after intervention by the central bank helped the greenback gain more ground, dealers said.
The weakness of other regional currencies made it easier for the central bank to prop up the US dollar above the previous high recorded on Nov. 16, when the currency closed at NT$29.272, in a bid to protect Taiwan’s exports, the dealers said.
The US dollar opened at NT$29.150 and moved to an early low of NT$29.045 before rebounding. Turnover totaled US$1.24 billion during the trading session.
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