Finance
Operations normal, XAC says
XPEC Entertainment Inc’s (樂陞科技) subsidiary XPEC Art Center Inc (XAC, 樂陞美術館) yesterday said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange that its operations and finances remain normal. The filing came at the request of the exchange after XAC’s Taipei office was searched by prosecutors yesterday morning. XAC on Sept. 10 announced it plans to withdraw its share listing application at the Taipei Exchange due to its parent company’s troubles of a failed tender offer.
AWARDS
Walter Yeh wins IAEE honor
Taiwan External Trade Development Council executive vice president Walter Yeh (葉明水) was given this year’s Outstanding Achievement in Industry Leadership Award by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) for his contributions and professional commitment to the exhibitions and events industry, the council said yesterday. The council said Yeh was the first Taiwanese to receive the recognition from IAEE since the award was started in 2004.
RETAIL
Costco to open 13th store
Costco Wholesale Corp is to open a new outlet in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) in January next year at the earliest, the US company said yesterday. It will become the company’s 13th outlet in Taiwan, after it opened its 12th in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) in April. The outlet in Sinjhuang is to cover an area of 4,000 ping (13,223m2) and be close to Fu Jen Catholic University (輔仁大學), the company was quoted as saying in media reports. Costco said it expects the Sinjhuang outlet to attract customers from Sinjhuang, Banqiao District (板橋), Tucheng District (土城) and Linkou District (林口).
STOCK EXCHANGE
Shares rally after initial fall
Taiwanese shares yesterday recovered earlier losses after some major old economy stocks staged a rebound, pushing up the broader market into positive territory by the end of the session, dealers said. Turnover remained thin, with many investors remaining cautious over upcoming earnings reports from heavyweights at home and in the US, and following a lackluster performance on Wall Street overnight, where investors were wary of a possible swifter-than-anticipated US Federal Reserve interest rate hike, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 46.36 points, or 0.51 percent, at 9,222.58, after moving between 9,175.07 and 9,222.58, on turnover of NT$62.50 billion (US$1.97 billion). The market opened down 1.15 points at 9,175.07 and fell to the day’s low of 9,157 before closing at the day’s high of 9,222.58. Strong showings by textiles, cement, glass, plastics and chemical shares helped to vault the weighted index back into the black.
BANKING
Local yuan deposits rise
Yuan deposits at Taiwanese banks picked up 1.96 percent last month to 311.83 billion yuan (US$46.3 billion), gaining for two months running, as investment interest in the Chinese currency recovered somewhat, the central bank said. Yuan deposits at offshore banking units increased 6.16 percent to 36.28 billion yuan, the first rebound this year, as companies built up positions, the central bank said. Yuan deposits in domestic banking units edged up 1.44 percent to 275.56 billion yuan after the currency showed signs of stabilization, it said. It remains to be seen if the trend sustains, as yuan volatility is set to intensify this month, the bank said.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
ROUGH RECORDS: Bonds in Japan, as well is in New Zealand, Australia and the US, are seeing the effects of a nervy market as stock exchanges across Asia edge down A deepening slump in Japanese government bonds added fuel to the selloff in global debt markets as rising oil prices stoked inflation fears and pushed yields to multi-decade highs. Japan’s 30-year yield yesterday surged as much as 20 basis points to the highest level since the tenor’s debut in 1999, before paring some of the move. Shorter-maturity Japanese debt was also under pressure, underscored by weak demand at a sale of five-year notes that offered a record-high coupon of 2 percent. Concerns over inflation and government spending rippling through markets including the US, Australia and New Zealand are being amplified in Japan,
The US has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia Corp’s second-most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, but not a single delivery has been made so far, three people familiar with the matter said, leaving a major technology deal in limbo as chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) seeks a breakthrough in China this week. Huang, who was not initially listed in a White House delegation to Beijing, joined the trip after an invitation from US President Donald Trump, a source said. Trump picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Wall Street is licking its chops over an unprecedented slate of massive initial public offerings (IPOs) set to arrive in the coming months, beginning with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) next month. That is expected to be followed by artificial intelligence (AI) rivals OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. The trio of mega listings, each eyeing valuations around US$1 trillion or more, constitutes a heady period of elevated risk and reward. SpaceX is targeting an IPO that would raise up to US$80 billion — about double the funds generated from all IPOs last year. OpenAI and Anthropic are eyeing IPOs raising US$60 billion. “We’re