STEEL
China Steel venture approved
China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday obtained government approval to invest an additional US$939 million in a venture in Vietnam, according to a statement released by the Investment Commission. The investment in Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp (台塑河靜鋼鐵興業) brings total overseas investments by local companies in the first six months to US$4.51 billion, up 48.82 percent from US$3.03 billion a year ago, the commission said. China-bound investments dropped 10.41 percent to US$4.64 billion, the commission said.
MANUFACTURING
Namchow net profit rises
Namchow Chemical Industrial Co (南僑化學工業) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$107 million (US$3.41 million) for last month, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The figure represents a 0.94 percent increase from NT$106 million in May, according to a separate filing by the company. In the first six months, net profit stood at NT$619 million. Revenue rose 3.97 percent to NT$1.31 billion last month, bringing the company’s total revenue in the first half of this year to NT$7.38 billion.
ELECTRONICS
Lite-On to buy back shares
Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技), the nation’s No. 2 power supply unit maker, yesterday said its board of directors has approved a plan to buy back as many as 100 million common shares, or 4.27 percent of its outstanding shares, to safeguard shareholders’ interests, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Lite-On said it would buy its shares for between NT$25.34 and NT$53.97 per share, adding that it plans to spend up to NT$44.71 billion on the repurchasing program. The program is to start today and run through September 20, the statement said.
SMARTPHONES
Global shipments increase
Global smartphone shipments grew 1.9 percent sequentially last quarter to 304 million units, Taipei-based research house TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report released yesterday. Growth slowed as vendors prepared to launch their flagship devices in the second half of this year, TrendForce said. However, shipments of Chinese branded smartphones expanded 15.6 percent last quarter to 126 million units due to the Labor Day holiday and increased demand from overseas market, TrendForce said. TrendForce yesterday cut its forecast for global smartphone shipments this year to 8.2 percent annual growth from a previous estimate of 11.6 percent. TrendForce analyst Avril Wu (吳雅婷) attributed the downward revision to a negative global economic outlook for the second half of this year and weakening demand.
INVESTMENT
Electronics drag on TAIEX
The TAIEX yesterday closed below the 9,000-point mark as market sentiment was affected by anticipation of weaker-than-expected trade performance of the electronics sector for the third quarter. The TAIEX lost 70.98 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 8,975 on turnover of NT$81.15 billion. The bellwether electronics sector encountered selling pressure throughout the session and pushed the broader market below the 9,000 point mark, dealers said. Among the falling electronics stocks, integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科), dropped 5.07 percent to close at NT$346.5, flat panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) fell 4.98 percent to NT$11.45 and Innolux Corp (群創) shed 6.25 percent to end at NT$12.75.
Napoleon Osorio is proud of being the first taxi driver to have accepted payment in bitcoin in the first country in the world to make the cryptocurrency legal tender: El Salvador. He credits Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s decision to bank on bitcoin three years ago with changing his life. “Before I was unemployed... And now I have my own business,” said the 39-year-old businessman, who uses an app to charge for rides in bitcoin and now runs his own car rental company. Three years ago the leader of the Central American nation took a huge gamble when he put bitcoin
Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips should spur growth for the semiconductor industry over the next few years, the CEO of a major supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) said, dismissing concerns that investors had misjudged the pace and extent of spending on AI. While the global chip market has grown about 8 percent annually over the past 20 years, AI semiconductors should grow at a much higher rate going forward, Scientech Corp (辛耘) chief executive officer Hsu Ming-chi (許明琪) told Bloomberg Television. “This booming of the AI industry has just begun,” Hsu said. “For the most prominent
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Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said Taiwan’s government plans to set up a business service company in Kyushu, Japan, to help Taiwanese companies operating there. “The company will follow the one-stop service model similar to the science parks we have in Taiwan,” Kuo said. “As each prefecture is providing different conditions, we will establish a new company providing services and helping Taiwanese companies swiftly settle in Japan.” Kuo did not specify the exact location of the planned company but said it would not be in Kumamoto, the Kyushu prefecture in which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC, 台積電) has a
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