Investors wait on talks
The TAIEX finished lower in thin trade yesterday, led by the financial sector, as many investors cautiously waited for the outcome of an ongoing meeting between the Financial Supervisory Commission and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, dealers said.
However, select old economy stocks, especially the food and textile sectors, attracted rotational buying on a technical rebound, lending some support to the broader market and preventing the index from falling further, dealers said.
The weighted index closed down 19.37 points, or 0.24 percent, at 7,899.24, after moving between 7,896.57 and 7,937.73. Turnover totaled NT$53.37 billion (US$1.78 billion) during the session.
Furloughed workers on the rise
The number of workers furloughed by their employers has risen slightly in the past two weeks, statistics released by the Council of Labor Affairs showed yesterday.
As of Sunday, 1,780 workers from 38 companies had reached agreements with their employers to take leave without pay, with 1,457 of them currently on furlough, the statistics showed.
The number represents an increase from March 15, when 1,711 workers from 35 companies had struck furlough agreements with their employers, 1,396 of which were on furlough at the time.
Most of the furloughed workers will take between one and four days of leave each month, the council said.
Monitor shipments drop
Shipments of LCD monitors from the world’s top 10 makers dropped 25.7 percent in February from the previous month to 8.31 million units, while those of the top 10 brand vendors also declined 23.4 percent to 8.13 million units, market advisor WitsView said.
In a research note, the Taipei-based market information firm attributed the decline to some February orders being shipped in January and demand in China being lower than expected. In addition, there were fewer working days in February this year because of the Lunar New Year holiday, it said.
Next Media decision date set
The Fair Trade Commission yesterday said that it had talked with lawyers involved in the Next Media Group (壹傳媒集團) buyout deal and all of them had yet to receive instructions from their clients to withdraw their bids.
The commission said it planned to make announcement about the deal tomorrow since the deadline of the review process is on Friday.
Germany, Taiwan look for gas
A research vessel carrying German and Taiwanese scientists set sail for waters off the nation’s southwestern coast on Sunday in search of methane hydrate, a potentially bountiful energy source.
The substance, a fossil fuel that consists of very densely-packed methane trapped in ice, is found beneath the seafloor on continental shelves and in the Arctic’s permafrost.
Earlier this month, Japan announced that it had successfully extracted the hydrate, known as “fire ice,” from its seabed, a move it said was a world-first and a major breakthrough for the energy-starved nation.
The 4700-tonne German ship, called the Sonne, will undertake a 50-day expedition at a cost of about US$3.98 million, three-quarters of which will be funded by Germany and the rest by Taiwan.
NT dollar follows won lower
The New Taiwan dollar closed lower against the US dollar yesterday, declining by NT$0.053 to close at NT$29.928 as traders took cues from a falling South Korean won to lower their holdings in the local currency, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$441 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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