Sentiment down on bird flu
The TAIEX ended lower yesterday as market sentiment was dampened by foreign institutional investors’ increased buying of short-position contracts in the futures market, which bet on the market falling due to a bird flu scare in China and heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, dealers said.
The local bourse opened 13.83 points higher after an 189.56-point drop at the close of trade on Monday, but failed to maintain momentum as foreign investors placed 9,000 orders for short-position contracts, down from 8,301 orders last week for long-position contracts that bet on a bullish market.
The weighted index closed down 24.25 points, or 0.31 percent at 7,728.54, on turnover of NT$68.99 billion (US$2.30 billion).
Lion Travel expands services
Lion Travel Service Co Ltd (雄獅旅行社), one of the nation’s leading travel agencies, yesterday said its subsidiaries in China have been allowed to run services for Chinese tourists to Hong Kong and Macau starting in the second quarter, which would be an important driver for the company’s revenue this year.
Lion Travel currently operates five subsidiaries in China. The company is scheduled to open two new subsidiaries in China by the end of this year, company chairman Jason Wang (王文傑) said. The company also plans to expand its overseas services to Singapore and Malaysia, he added.
Lion Travel plans to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter, as it hopes to raise funds on the open market to finance its expansion, Wang said.
Xiaomi pre-orders available
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信), the nation’s third-largest telecommunications carrier, yesterday launched preorders for a new smartphone from China’s Xiaomi Technology (小米科技) in Taiwan.
Shanghai-based Xiaomi’s 4.3-inch S2 smartphone is equipped with an advanced Qualcomm Inc quad-core processor and is priced at NT$9,499. It will be free for those who subscribe to Far EasTone’s service package for a minimum monthly fee of NT$1,173.
AUO to unveil new display
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達) is to debut a 5-inch full-high-definition organic light-emitting diode (HD OLED) smartphone display, which has a resolution of 443 pixels per inch, in China this week, the company said yesterday in a statement.
The full-HD OLED panel, which is touted as having the world’s highest resolution, will be showcased at the China Information Technology Exposition and the China Optoelectronics Display Exposition 2013, which is to be held between today and Friday in Shenzhen.
AUO said the new product would satisfy consumer demand for exquisite image quality.
NDF to invest NT$520 million
The National Development Fund’s (NDF) steering committee on Monday agreed to invest approximately NT$520 million in drug manufacturing and other emerging industries, as well as a contactless smartcard system in the south of the country.
Of the NT$520 million, NT$60 million is to be invested in a drug factory built by the non-profit Development Center for Biotechnology, NT$360 million is to be injected into a venture capital fund operated by Global Investment Holding (環宇投資) and NT$100 million is to go into the contactless smartcard system.
NT dollar up on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar closed higher against the US dollar yesterday, rising NT$0.01 to NT$30.050.
Turnover totaled US$768 million during the trading session.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
Popular vape brands such as Geek Bar might get more expensive in the US — if you can find them at all. Shipments of vapes from China to the US ground to a near halt last month from a year ago, official data showed, hit by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and a crackdown on unauthorized e-cigarettes in the world’s biggest market for smoking alternatives. That includes Geek Bar, a brand of flavored vapes that is not authorized to sell in the US, but which had been widely available due to porous import controls. One retailer, who asked not to be named, because
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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