TAX REVENUE
Nation’s coffers boosted
On the back of an increase in average daily turnover on the local bourse last month, revenue from the securities transaction tax grew 2.4 percent year-on-year to NT$8.2 billion (US$270.4 million), the highest level since August 2014, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. In the first three months of this year, securities transaction tax revenue totaled NT$18.9 billion, up 6 percent from a year earlier and the largest first-quarter revenue in the past three years, the ministry said. The average daily turnover of the local equity market in the first quarter rose to NT$113 billion from NT$108.6 billion in the same period last year, ministry data showed.
TEXTILES
Shinkong to reduce capital
Shinkong Spinning Co (新光紡織) yesterday said that it is considering reducing its capital as part of efforts to boost its efficiency and increase the return on its equity. Shinkong Spinning’s board agreed to reduce its capital by 50 percent, or NT$1.5 billion, and shareholders are to receive NT$5 per share should they approve the plan in June, the company said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. Last year, Shingkong Spinning posted NT$1.34 billion in revenue, a 20.3 percent year-on-year increase, or earnings per share of NT$0.52, while gross margin rose 4.02 percentage points to 22.8 percent. The board has proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$0.456 per share subject to shareholder approval.
COMPUTING SERVICES
IEI posts higher sales
IEI Integration Corp (威強電), a leading industrial computing services provider that integrates computing platforms and customization services, yesterday said its consolidated sales grew 29.96 percent year-on-year to NT$2.2 billion in the first quarter, down 13.44 percent from the previous quarter. The company said sales in the second quarter would be lower than the first as the company had completed some major orders for gaming customers in the first quarter. However, the company said the number would still be higher than a year earlier due to stable orders for point-of-sale applications from the restaurant and beverage sector.
OPTICAL SENSORS
PixArt revenue to grow
Hsinchu-based chip image sensor maker PixArt Imaging Inc’s (原相科技) revenue this quarter is likely to grow by a double-digit percentage from last quarter’s NT$1.1 billion, due to more working days and rising demand for game console controller optical sensors, several media outlets reported yesterday, citing unnamed institutional investors. As PixArt no longer needs to pay a substantial amount of royalties to Avago Technologies Ltd, along with a continued improvement in its product mix, the company’s profit structure could notably improve and gross margin is likely to be higher than last year’s 50.1 percent, the reports said.
FOOTWEAR
Feng Tay hit by FX losses
Feng Tay Enterprise Co (豐泰鞋業), which provides athletic footwear to Nike Inc, on Wednesday reported weaker-than-expected earnings in the first quarter, mainly due to a less favorable product mix and unfavorable foreign-exchange rates. The company said its net profit for the first quarter came in at NT$807 million, down 11.7 percent year-on-year and 17.4 percent quarter-on-quarter, as it posted NT$100 million in foreign-exchange losses. Earnings per share were NT$1.21. Feng Tay said its gross margin declined to 20.5 percent and operating margin came in at 8 percent.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
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