LIFE INSURERS
Hontai plan still uncertain
Hontai Life Insurance Co’s (宏泰人壽) plan to lift its risk-based capital (RBC) adequacy remains uncertain, as major shareholder Everpro Insurance Brokers Co Ltd (永達保險經紀人) does not support Hontai Life’s fundraising plan. Hontai yesterday failed to hold a shareholders’ meeting to discuss a plan to sell land assets to raise funds. The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday said Hontai Life needs to raise its RBC ratio to the legal requirement of 200 percent by the end of this year, from the current level of between 50 and 100 percent. The commission said the insurer’s other major shareholders can cope with the recapitalization issue.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Win tips revenue surge
Win Semiconductors Corp (穩懋半導體) yesterday told an investors’ conference that revenue for this quarter would see a double-digit percentage increase from last quarter’s NT$2.81 billion (US$90.14 million) after reporting better-than-expected earnings for last quarter, as handset and Wi-Fi-related clients are entering their peak season. Win provides foundry services for gallium arsenide components used in handsets. In the first quarter, Win reported net income of NT$618 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.83, with a gross margin of 37.9 percent and an operating margin of 27.6 percent.
LENS SUPPLIERS
Largan shares beat record
Shares of Largan Precision Co (大立光), a leading local smartphone camera lens module supplier, yesterday hit a record high for the company, as investors expressed confidence in the company’s leading position in the sector. Shares closed 0.34 percent higher at NT$2,945 on expectations that the firm would benefit from industrial migration of handset camera lenses to 10-megapixel and more advanced models.
CHEMICALS
Namchow reports solid Q1
Namchow Chemical Industrial Co (南僑化工) on Monday reported solid financial results for the first quarter, benefiting from continuing capacity expansion, lower raw material prices and a one-off tax benefit from its Guangzhou plant in China. The company said net income grew 38.1 percent from a year earlier to NT$289 million, or NT$1.16 per share, and revenue increased by 6 percent to NT$3.57 billion. Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) yesterday raised its earnings forecast for Namchow by 4.8 percent to NT$4.4 per share and increased its share price target to NT$83.
SOLAR ENERGY
Green Energy to sell shares
Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation’s biggest solar wafer maker, yesterday said it has secured shareholders’ approval to sell 150 million new shares and plans to use the proceeds to improve its financial structure, according a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company said it plans to raise funds via private placements, without elaborating. Green Energy posted a net loss of NT$2.09 billion last year, or NT$5.54 loss per share.
PC MAKERS
Inventec dividend approved
Contract PC maker Inventec Corp (英業達) yesterday said its board approved the distribution of NT$1.75 per share in a cash dividend based on last year’s net profit of NT$7.09 billion, or earnings per share of NT$1.98, with a payout ratio of 88.38 percent. The planned dividend suggests a yield of 8.27 percent, based on the firm’s closing share price of NT$21.15 yesterday.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
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