PHARMACEUTICALS
Cancer drug approved
Drug developer PharmaEngine Inc (智擎) on Tuesday said that the European Commission has notified its licensing partner Shire PLC that sales permission for the new pancreatic cancer drug, Onivyde, in combination with 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin, has been approved. PharmaEngine is entitled to receive a milestone payment of US$25 million, which is estimated to contribute NT$6.49 (US$0.21) to its earnings per share. For the whole of this year, PharmaEngine is forecast to recognize major milestone payments totaling US$66.5 million, Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) said in a client note yesterday. With Onivyde hitting the European market soon, PharmaEngine is expected to receive sales royalties in proportion to the quarterly sales of the drug, along with three milestone payments totaling US$130 million over the next three years, Yuanta Securities Corp (元大證券) said in a separate note.
INTERNET
PChome Thai unit approved
Online shopping portal PChome Online Inc (網路家庭) yesterday said its Thailand unit has gained the approval of the Electronic Transactions Commission to conduct electronic payment services in the kingdom. The company said PChome Thailand Co Ltd, a joint venture with Cal-Comm Electronics and Communication Co (泰金寶), which is a unit of Taiwanese electronics conglomerate New Kinpo Group (新金寶集團), is to become the first Taiwanese e-commerce company to provide a variety of services in the kingdom.
AUTO PARTS
Tong Yang’s profits surge
Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業), which supplies automotive metal sheets and bumpers to global brands, reported a pre-tax profit of NT$254 million last month, up 25.25 percent from the previous month, as shipments continued to increase after the end of Chinese automakers’ summer break. As China’s new car sales continue to rise, Tong Yang’s original equipment manufacturing business there is expected to maintain consistent growth, with its plant in Foshan, Guangdong Province, already generating profits. However, the company’s plant in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, is still operating at a loss and is not expected to break even before the end of the year, the company said.
COMPONENTS
Jih Sun upbeat on TXC
Quartz crystal components maker TXC Corp (台灣晶技) might see its revenue increase 5 percent from last quarter’s NT$2.6 billion, setting a record-high for the company, thanks to clients’ increasing demand for sensor products and temperature compensated crystal oscillators, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) said in client note yesterday. The company’s gross margin could grow to 25.7 percent in the third quarter, with net profit up 24.9 percent quarterly to NT$260 million, Jih Sun said. The company, which designs, manufactures and sells frequency-control crystal components, is forecast to report net profit of NT$1 billion for whole of this year, with earnings per share of NT$3.24, the brokerage said.
RATINGS
Fitch upgrades utilities
Fitch Ratings Ltd on Tuesday upgraded its credit ratings on the nation’s state-run refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 中油) and state-owned utility Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電). In a press release, the ratings agency said it has moved up its long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to “AA-” from “A+” for both CPC and Taipower. Their national long-term ratings have been affirmed at “AAA(twn),” and the outlooks for their credit ratings are stable, Fitch said.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
CONCERNS: Tech companies investing in AI businesses that purchase their products have raised questions among investors that they are artificially propping up demand Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday said that the company would be participating in OpenAI’s latest funding round, describing it as potentially “the largest investment we’ve ever made.” “We will invest a great deal of money,” Huang told reporters while visiting Taipei. “I believe in OpenAI. The work that they do is incredible. They’re one of the most consequential companies of our time.” Huang did not say exactly how much Nvidia might contribute, but described the investment as “huge.” “Let Sam announce how much he’s going to raise — it’s for him to decide,” Huang said, referring to OpenAI
CHIP HANG-UP: Surging memorychip prices would deal a blow to smartphone sales this year, potentially hindering one of MediaTek’s biggest sources of revenue MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip designer, yesterday said its new artificial intelligence (AI) chips used in data centers are to account for 20 percent of its total revenue next year, as cloud service providers race to deploy AI infrastructure to meet voracious demand. MediaTek is believed to be developing tensor processing units for Google, which are used in AI applications. While it did not confirm such reports, MediaTek said its new application-specific IC (ASIC) business would be a new growth engine for the company. It again hiked its forecast for the addressable ASIC market to US$70 billion by 2028, compared
SIGNS OF STABILITY: With US tariff risks to GDP subsiding, reliable economic conditions are expected to reinforce the bank operating environment, Fitch said Fitch Ratings has upgraded the outlook for Taiwan’s banking sector to “neutral” from “deteriorating,” citing a tariff agreement with the US that has reduced uncertainty in Taiwan’s macroeconomic environment and stabilized financial performance. The US on Jan. 15 agreed to lower tariffs on Taiwanese goods from 20 percent to 15 percent, without stacking them on existing most-favored-nation rates, placing Taiwan on equal footing with major competitors such as Japan, South Korea and the EU. The deal also grants Taiwan-made semiconductors and related products most-favorable-nation treatment under Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. Under the agreement, Taiwanese semiconductor, electronics manufacturing service, artificial
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