STOCK MARKET
Shares close lower
Shares in Taiwan closed slightly lower yesterday as large-cap stocks took a pause throughout the trading session after a rally seen a session earlier, dealers said. Market sentiment turned cautious amid lingering fears over a possible interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, while many investors preferred to take to the sidelines, simply watching how high-tech firms would report their sales data for last month, they said. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed down 5.9 points, or 0.07 percent, at 8,457.40, after moving between 8,441.28 and 8,497.19, on turnover of NT$89.96 billion (US$2.73 billion). The market opened up 0.15 percent and rose to the day’s high on follow-through buying from a 1.71 percent increase seen on Tuesday, but with the index moving closer to the nearest technical resistance at about 8,500 points, selling set in to drag the index into the red and the weakness continued until the close, dealers said.
COMPUTERS
Acer joins climate pledge
Acer Inc’s (宏碁) US branch yesterday announced that it has joined the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, along with more than 140 companies from across the US that are standing with US President Barack Obama’s administration to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to climate action and to voice support for a strong outcome to the UN Climate Change Conference of Parties in Paris. Acer said it pledged to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2020. It said it would continue to buy 100 percent “green” power for its US operations and increase “renewable” energy purchased for its international operations.
ENERGY
Reserve margin drops
Taiwan’s energy operating reserve margin yesterday dropped to 3.99 percent — the lowest level recorded over the same period of time in past six years — mainly because of warm weather and a coal-fired power plant’s temporary shutdown, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said. Taipower said a privately owned coal-fired power plant in Hualien County suspended electricity supply yesterday morning due to a broken pipe, causing a power supply shortage. It said it has activated a high-cost backup power plant to supply electricity for nationwide use.
AUTOMOBILES
Foxconn eyes electric cars
Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), an assembler of Apple Inc’s iPhone devices, is reportedly investing 1.2 billion yuan (US$187.52 million) to set up an electric automobile service company in Hangzhou, China. The investment is part of Foxconn’s collaboration plan with the Hangzhou City Government under a strategic agreement inked in March, according to several Chinese media outlets. The new company is to offer an electrical-car rental services with more than 5,000 vehicles in the next three years, reports said.
RETAIL
Fashion fuels Cosmed sales
Cosmed (康是美), the nation’s second-largest drugstore chain operator, yesterday announced its annual report, relating high-volume sales to the latest consumer trends. Cosmed said, for example, that local consumers have begun favoring the “straight across” eyebrow look that has been trending in South Korea, driving up sales of eyebrow pens and mascara products by 60 percent.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
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