TAIEX breaks 7,900 barrier
The TAIEX closed above 7,900 for the first time in nearly two weeks yesterday, even though turnover was the lowest for any session this month.
The weighted index closed up 51.73 points, or 0.66 percent, at 7,918.61. Turnover totaled NT$56.94 billion (US$1.90 billion).
Hannstar back in the black
Local LCD panel maker HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) yesterday posted net profits of NT$171 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.06, for the fourth quarter of last year on improving gross margin.
That made HannStar the first local flat-panel maker to post quarterly net profits amid an industry slump over the past two years.
HannStar lost NT$328 million in the third quarter and NT$1.84 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Gross margin jumped to 26 percent last quarter, compared with 14 percent in the third quarter of last year and 3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The average selling price dropped to US$57 last quarter, from US$60 the previous quarter, while shipments fell 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to 5.14 million units, the company said.
Operating margin also rose to 14 percent last quarter, from 5 percent in the prior quarter and minus-8 percent the previous year.
Futures tax to be cut on Monday
The Ministry of Finance announced yesterday that the futures transaction tax would be cut by 50 percent to 0.00002 percent from 0.00004 percent from Monday next week to the end of 2015.
The cut is expected to create 400 to 500 job opportunities, with potential tax losses from the cut expected to be recovered after two years, the ministry said.
Green Energy stays in the red
Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation’s biggest solar wafer maker, said on Thursday that its quarterly losses widened to NT$1.03 billion last quarter, from a loss of NT$779 million in the third quarter of last year.
The company blamed consistently falling solar wafer prices for the loss.
For the whole of last year, Green Energy lost NT$3.57 billion, compared with a loss of NT$2.33 billion the previous year.
The company is scheduled to hold an annual shareholders’ meeting on June 25 to seek approval of its annual financial statement.
Debt crisis hits Taiwan Takisawa
Taiwan Takisawa Technology Co Ltd (瀧澤科), one of the nation’s largest designers and assemblers of computerized numerical control lathes and machining centers, posted NT$131.44 million in net profits for last year, down 11.38 percent from NT$148.32 million the previous year, according to a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Earnings per share fell to NT$1.85 last year, from NT$2.29 the previous year, according to the filing.
The company attributed the decline to the global economic slowdown, primarily the debt crisis in Europe, along with growing competition from its Chinese rivals.
NT dollar ends week higher
The New Taiwan dollar closed up 0.4 percent, or NT$0.065, at NT$29.875 against its US counterpart yesterday.
That saw the local currency rise 0.1 percent during the five-day trading period. Turnover was US$517 million.
The central bank has sold the local currency just before the close of trading on most days in the past year, traders who asked not to be identified said.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
MATCHING NEIGHBORS: Taiwan lacks leverage with the US and ‘we should not be optimistic until details are confirmed,’ the Third Wednesday Club’s Lin Por-fong said Taiwan must secure tariff terms from the US that are on par with those granted to key export rivals such as Japan and South Korea or risk ceding competitiveness in global markets, a leading industrialist said yesterday, as concerns mount over trade barriers and currency volatility. Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairman of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp (台灣玻璃) and head of the Third Wednesday Club (三三會) — an exclusive body for Taiwan’s top 100 business leaders — said that Taiwan cannot afford to be optimistic ahead of Washington’s release of “reciprocal” tariff rates. “Taiwan lacks bargaining leverage with the US and we should not
RSS