ECONOMY
Daiwa forecasts GDP growth
Daiwa Capital Markets Inc yesterday said the TAIEX is likely to trade between 7,800 points and 8,900 points this year, as Taiwan’s GDP might grow 1.2 percent annually. In its latest equity strategy report, Daiwa said a “mini” upturn cycle is likely to emerge in the tech sector, where upstream firms should outperform given their higher operating leverage. Daiwa said it also favors the industrial sector as the downside for end demand to fall further from its low level last year is limited, while a strong Japanese yen is helping some Taiwanese firms gain back some competitiveness, according to the report. Daiwa’s top picks among Taiwanese stocks include United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), LandMark Optoelectronics Corp (聯亞光電), Largan Precision Co (大立光), General Interface Solution Holding Ltd (業成), Ennoconn Corp (樺漢), Hiwin Technologies Corp (上銀), Taiwan Paiho Ltd (台灣百和) and Eclat Textile Co (儒鴻).
INVESTMENT
Firms see trading restricted
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE) has banned five companies from trading their shares on margin starting, beginning today, after their net value fell below the threshold of NT$5 per share. Trading in shares of Macronix International Co (旺宏), China Television Co (中視), Chi Cheng Enterprise Co (及成), Honyi Precision Industry Co (宏易) and Bull Will Co (百徽) are to be restricted to cash-only transactions, according to the exchange.
INDUSTRY
Listed firms’ profits fall
Taiwan-listed companies, excluding financial holdings firms, reported an overall 21.06 percent average decrease in pre-tax profits for the first quarter of this year due to poor results in the semiconductor, optoelectronics and shipping sectors, the stock exchange said on Tuesday. The companies’ pre-tax profits totaled a combined NT$347 billion (US$10.61 billion) in the first three months of the year, compared with NT$439.5 billion a year earlier. Their January-to-March revenue decreased 5.69 percent year-on-year to NT$5.93 trillion, the TWSE said in a statement. Among the 810 companies listed in Taiwan, 406 reported higher profits in the first quarter than the same period of last year.
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Vigor Kobo payout approved
Shareholders of Vigor Kobo (維格餅家), a bakery specializing in traditional Taiwanese cakes and pastries, yesterday approved the company’s proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$5 per share, representing a payout ratio of 93.8 percent. Vigor’s net profit dropped 29.95 percent annually to NT$127 million last year, with earnings per share of NT$5.33, while revenue fell 14.66 percent to NT$1.14 billion due to low customer traffic and China business restructuring. Gross margin and operating margin decreased to 69.45 percent and 12.66 percent last year, from 70.29 percent and 16.03 percent in 2014 respectively.
ECONOMY
Central bank sells bonds
The central bank on Tuesday sold NT$30 billion in 30-year Treasury bonds, with the interest rate reaching a record-low of 1.65 percent, an indication that the bank might cut interest rates again to revive economic growth. Traders have forecast a cut to the benchmark interest rate when the central bank meets next month, with 14 of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg expecting a reduction. Taiwan’s GDP fell 0.84 percent annually in the first quarter.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) forecast that its wafer shipments this quarter would grow up to 7 percent sequentially and the factory utilization rate would rise to 75 percent, indicating that customers did not alter their ordering behavior due to the US President Donald Trump’s capricious US tariff policies. However, the uncertainty about US tariffs has weighed on the chipmaker’s business visibility for the second half of this year, UMC chief financial officer Liu Chi-tung (劉啟東) said at an online earnings conference yesterday. “Although the escalating trade tensions and global tariff policies have increased uncertainty in the semiconductor industry, we have not
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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