BONDS
French ‘green bonds’ debut
The first tranche of US$120 million in “green bonds” issued by France-based Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank was yesterday listed on the over-the-counter market, adding to the global visibility of Taiwan’s bond market, the Taipei Exchange said. The bonds, which fund environmentally friendly projects, have a maturity of five years with a coupon rate of 2.64 percent. The French lender said it is upbeat about renewable energy development in Taiwan and plans to issue additional green bonds to participate in the government’s “green” energy efforts. It added that it hopes to work with Taiwanese bond underwriters to push for more listings of green bonds issued by other foreign companies on the market.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
NT dollar rises to NT$30.490
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose against the US dollar, gaining NT$0.103 to close at NT$30.490 as the greenback was hit by concerns about investigations into ties between US President Donald Trump’s administration and Russia, dealers said. Selling in the US dollar on the local foreign exchange market also reflected the strength of other regional currencies, while continued foreign institutional buying on the local equity market added downward pressure on the greenback, the dealers added. Foreign institutional investors yesterday bought a net NT$3.04 billion of shares on the main board, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Taiwan to fall behind: SEMI
Taiwan will likely fall behind South Korea and China to become the world’s third-largest semiconductor equipment market next year as its rivals build up their IC sectors, a report released yesterday by global industrial association SEMI showed. The trade group forecast that South Korea is likely to replace Taiwan as the world’s largest IC equipment market this year on nearly 70 percent growth in equipment purchases. China is then expected to unseat Taiwan as the second-largest IC equipment market next year, the report said. Last year, IC equipment sales in Taiwan totaled US$12.23 billion, making it the world’s largest semiconductor equipment market for the fifth consecutive year, ahead of South Korea at US$7.69 billion and China on US$6.46 billion, the report said. However, Taiwan’s IC equipment purchases are expected to grow only 4.09 percent annually to US$12.73 billion, while South Korea’s purchases are expected to soar 68.7 percent year-on-year to US$12.97 billion.
STOCK MARKETS
TAIEX cautiously edges up
Local shares yesterday closed slightly higher as sentiment turned cautious ahead of investor conferences scheduled for today for two tech heavyweights, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and smartphone camera lens supplier Largan Precision Co (大立光), dealers said. Largan yesterday continued trending up, rising 2.74 percent to close at a record high of NT$5,430, lending support to the electronics sector, as well as the broader market, the dealers said. The stock soared 3.83 percent a day earlier. The weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed up 5.11 points, or 0.05 percent, at 10,420.68, after moving between 10,393.54 and 10,450.87 on turnover of NT$109.71 billion.
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
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