STOCK MARKET
TAIEX lower on MSCI review
The latest quarterly index review by MSCI Inc, which cut Taiwan’s weighting on two of its indices, prompted investors to shift to the sell side before the adjustments took effect after the market closed yesterday, dealers said. The TAIEX closed down 21.23 points, or 0.2 percent, at the day’s low of 10,815.47 as investors also locked in gains built earlier in the session after the main board breached 10,900 points and approached the critical 11,000-point level, dealers added. Turnover on the main bourse totaled NT$135.67 billion (US$4.64 billion) yesterday, compared with NT$120.08 billion on Monday.
PROPERTY
Sinyi makes ethical list
Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) has been designated one of the world’s most ethical companies by the Ethisphere Institute, making it the first Taiwanese company to receive the honor. The Ethisphere Institute, a US-based organization that defines and measures corporate ethical standards, included Sinyi among the 135 companies in its 12th annual list of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies,” which was published on Feb. 12. Sinyi Realty spokesman Howard Chou (周莊雲) said “trust and loyalty” have always been the company’s main values and have guided its daily operations for many years.
CERAMICS
Cash dividend announced
Advanced Ceramic X Corp (璟德電子), a manufacturer of high-frequency components and modules, on Monday announced it is to distribute a cash dividend of NT$10.9 per share after the company reported earnings per share of NT$12.15 for last year. The distribution represents a payout ratio of 89.71 percent. The company’s net profit increased 4 percent year-on-year to NT$839 million last year on revenue of NT$1.96 billion and gross margin of 62.95 percent. The company’s annual earnings for last year exceeded its paid-in capital for the third consecutive year.
FITNESS
Dyaco facing financial loss
Fitness equipment supplier Dyaco International Inc (岱宇國際) on Monday announced that it is evaluating potential financial losses after one of its clients, New Level UK Ltd, entered administration. Dyaco said shipments to the British firm accounted for 1.5 percent of its total sales last year and as of Monday, New Level UK owed the company US$3.64 million in account receivables, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) yesterday said in a note that if the account receivables are not collected and must be written off, it would erode Dyaco’s earnings by NT$1.18 per share.
BANKING
CTBC five-year plan on track
Credit Suisse Group AG said the macroeconomic environment is highly supportive for CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) to execute its second five-year plan that aims to raise its banking unit’s overseas profit mix to 50 percent from last year’s 40 percent and grow its total life insurance assets to NT$2.5 trillion from NT$1.2 trillion. “The plan will further shape CTBC’s business mix from a domestic and consumer bank-focused conglomerate into three equally-split divisions of a domestic banking unit, an overseas banking unit and a life insurance business,” Credit Suisse said in a client note yesterday. Moreover, it would see the life insurance business contribute more than 50 percent of asset growth in the next five years, it added.
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
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