HOTELS
Michelin stars boost shares
Hotel stocks moved higher yesterday after restaurants linked to them were awarded stars in Michelin SCA’s first Taipei restaurant guide, which was launched on Wednesday. Shares in FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際) surged as much as 9.9 percent and closed up 3.08 percent after Michelin named its affiliate Le Palais (頤宮) the only three-star restaurant in Taipei. Shares in My Humble House Hospitality Management Consulting Co (寒舍餐旅) rose as much as 10 percent and ended 3.89 percent higher after its The Guest House (請客樓) restaurant was awarded two stars. The TAIEX was down 20.35 points, or 0.18 percent, at 11,018.45, on turnover of NT$110.823 billion (US$3.795 billion).
BANKING
Monthly yuan deposits drop
Yuan deposits held by local banks, including negotiable certificates of deposit, dropped 0.62 percent to 321.88 billion yuan (US$50.96 billion) at the end of last month, the central bank said yesterday. Yuan deposits held by banks’ domestic units totaled 292.097 billion yuan, a monthly decrease of 0.76 percent, the central bank said, adding that holdings by offshore banking units totaled 29.785 billion yuan, down 0.69 percent monthly.
SHIPPING
Dimerco sees NT$206m profit
Dimerco Express Group (中菲行), which offers global freight-forwarding and logistics services, yesterday said it aims to improve operating profit this year through business expansion and information system integration. The Taipei-based company posted NT$206 million in net profit last year, down 23.6 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$1.67. Dimerco said its board proposed to offer shareholders a cash dividend of NT$1.19 per share, which makes for a payout ratio of 71.26 percent.
INTERNET
Chief Telecom gets listed
Chief Telecom Inc (是方電訊), a Taipei-based virtual private network (VPN) service provider, on Wednesday won listing approval from the Taipei Exchange. The company, 68.9 percent of which is held by Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), has paid-in capital of NT$600 million and reported revenue of NT$2.13 billion and net profit of NT$384 million, or NT$6.24 per share, for last year. Chief Telecom is likely to debut its shares on the over-the-counter market in June, local media reported.
FOOD PROCESSING
Namchow agrees dividend
Namchow Holdings Co (南僑投資控股), which produces baking oil and frozen food, on Wednesday said its board has approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$2.7 per share, marking the second-highest payout in the company’s history. The proposed dividend, slightly lower than last year’s NT$2.81, was based on last year’s earnings of NT$4.06 per share, the company said, adding that net profit decreased 16.45 percent year-on-year to NT$1.01 billion last year, while revenue rose 5.42 percent to NT$17.18 billion.
AIRLINES
EVA to get 24 Dreamliners
Boeing Co on Wednesday took a jab at rival Airbus SA as EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) is ready to take delivery of 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in the third quarter. “The 787 Dreamliner is unmatched by the Airbus A350 and is the ideal choice for carriers looking for growth in Asia’s highly competitive market,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes division managing director Darren Hulst said in Taipei, adding that orders for the 787 Dreamliner totaled 1,319, exceeding the A350’s 859.
PERSISTENT RUMORS: Nvidia’s CEO said the firm is not in talks to sell AI chips to China, but he would welcome a change in US policy barring the activity Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company is not in discussions to sell its Blackwell artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese firms, waving off speculation it is trying to engineer a return to the world’s largest semiconductor market. Huang, who arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of meetings with longtime partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), took the opportunity to clarify recent comments about the US-China AI race. The Nvidia head caused a stir in an interview this week with the Financial Times, in which he was quoted as saying “China will win” the AI race. Huang yesterday said
Nissan Motor Co has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ￥97 billion (US$630 million) to a group sponsored by Taiwanese autoparts maker Minth Group (敏實集團), as the struggling automaker seeks to shore up its financial position. The acquisition is led by a special purchase company managed by KJR Management Ltd, a Japanese real-estate unit of private equity giant KKR & Co, people familiar with the matter said. KJR said it would act as asset manager together with Mizuho Real Estate Management Co. Nissan is undergoing a broad cost-cutting campaign by eliminating jobs and shuttering plants as it grapples
The Chinese government has issued guidance requiring new data center projects that have received any state funds to only use domestically made artificial intelligence (AI) chips, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In recent weeks, Chinese regulatory authorities have ordered such data centers that are less than 30 percent complete to remove all installed foreign chips, or cancel plans to purchase them, while projects in a more advanced stage would be decided on a case-by-case basis, the sources said. The move could represent one of China’s most aggressive steps yet to eliminate foreign technology from its critical infrastructure amid a
MORE WEIGHT: The national weighting was raised in one index while holding steady in two others, while several companies rose or fell in prominence MSCI Inc, a global index provider, has raised Taiwan’s weighting in one of its major indices and left the country’s weighting unchanged in two other indices after a regular index review. In a statement released on Thursday, MSCI said it has upgraded Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country World Index by 0.02 percentage points to 2.25 percent, while maintaining the weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the most closely watched by foreign institutional investors, at 20.46 percent. Additionally, the index provider has left Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index unchanged at 23.15 percent. The latest index adjustments are to
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