Passive-component supplier Yageo Corp (國巨) yesterday saw its stock rally nearly 4 percent amid expectations that the stock would extend its uptrend through the end of the year and speculation that China’s latest curb on toxic emissions would limit production of raw materials for passive components, thereby reducing their supply.
Shares of Yageo leaped 3.82 percent to NT$843, making it the second-most traded stock by value after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Shares of local rival Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) soared 7.41 percent to NT$369.5 yesterday, while the TAIEX edged up 0.14 percent.
A total of NT$11.45 billion (US$373.6 million) of Yageo shares changed hands yesterday, the tally showed, as more signs indicated that the price hikes for passive components might not come to an end this year.
Yageo has forecast that it could reach full capacity utilization over the next two years given strong customer demand.
On the supply side, the government of Chaoqing City in China’s Guangdong Province ordered all ceramic electric powder suppliers with operations in the city to slash production by 50 percent, beginning on Sunday last week, in the local government’s latest crackdown on toxic emissions, Tencent Holdings Ltd’s (騰訊) news app Tian Tian Kuai Bao (天天快報) reported earlier this month.
The factories were told to fully shut down their factories through early October, the report said.
The scale-down in the production of raw material used in passive components, multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC) and chip resistors is expected to further squeeze an already-tight supply of passive components, boosting their prices, the report said.
The order came as it aimed to reduce environmental pollution during a major sports event held by the city government next month, the report said.
A Japanese investment consultancy last week raised the target prices of major Japanese MLCC manufacturers, including Murata Manufacturing Co, Taiyuo Yuten Co and TDK Corp.
It increased the target price of Murata to ¥25,000 from a previous estimate of ¥18,500, as strong demand pushed up MLCC exports 45 percent year-on-year in May, according to the consultancy.
Murata was reportedly in talks with clients to hike MLCC prices by 20 to 30 percent, which would boost the company’s financial performance for the remainder of the year, it said.
Taiyuo Yuten and TDK also saw their target prices raised to ¥4,000 and ¥13,000, from ¥2,800 and ¥10,500 respectively.
Taiwan’s exports soared 56 percent year-on-year to an all-time high of US$64.05 billion last month, propelled by surging global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and cloud service infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) called the figure an unexpected upside surprise, citing a wave of technology orders from overseas customers alongside the usual year-end shopping season for technology products. Growth is likely to remain strong this month, she said, projecting a 40 percent to 45 percent expansion on an annual basis. The outperformance could prompt the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and
The demise of the coal industry left the US’ Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless kilometers of abandoned underground mines. Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centers that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. One such project is underway by a non-profit team calling itself Energy DELTA (Discovery, Education, Learning and Technology Accelerator) Lab, which is looking to develop energy sources on about 26,305 hectares of old coal land in
Netflix on Friday faced fierce criticism over its blockbuster deal to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. The streaming giant is already viewed as a pariah in some Hollywood circles, largely due to its reluctance to release content in theaters and its disruption of traditional industry practices. As Netflix emerged as the likely winning bidder for Warner Bros — the studio behind Casablanca, the Harry Potter movies and Friends — Hollywood’s elite launched an aggressive campaign against the acquisition. Titanic director James Cameron called the buyout a “disaster,” while a group of prominent producers are lobbying US Congress to oppose the deal,
Two Chinese chipmakers are attracting strong retail investor demand, buoyed by industry peer Moore Threads Technology Co’s (摩爾線程) stellar debut. The retail portion of MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co’s (上海沐曦) upcoming initial public offering (IPO) was 2,986 times oversubscribed on Friday, according to a filing. Meanwhile, Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co (北京昂瑞微), which makes radio frequency chips, was 2,899 times oversubscribed on Friday, its filing showed. The bids coincided with Moore Threads’ trading debut, which surged 425 percent on Friday after raising 8 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion) on bets that the company could emerge as a viable local competitor to Nvidia