EQUITIES
TAIEX sheds 0.25 percent
Local shares yesterday edged lower, but the TAIEX remained above 11,000 points due to support from small and medium-sized stocks. The TAIEX closed down 27.85 points, or 0.25 percent, at 11,006.34, with turnover totaling NT$137 billion (US$4.48 billion). The Taiwan Stock Exchange’s eight major stock categories reported a mixture of gains and losses. Falling stocks outnumbered gainers 486 to 314, with 120 unchanged. On the currency market, the New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar, advancing NT$0.051 to close at NT$30.551. Turnover totaled US$854 million during the trading session at Taipei Forex Inc.
HEALTHCARE
Apex Medical shares soar
Apex Medical Corp (雃博) shares yesterday rose by the daily limit of 10 percent after the respiratory therapy equipment maker announced that it has received a NT$380 million investment from CDIB Capital Group (中華開發資本) and the National Development Fund (國發基金). CDIB Capital and the fund have agreed to participate in Apex Medical’s private placement by subscribing for 17.53 million shares at NT$22.1 apiece, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Thursday. The firm said it would use the proceeds to establish overseas outlets and invest in offshore units, in addition to researching new products and technologies. The shares closed at NT$28.45 in Taipei trading.
ELECTRONICS
AVC posts record revenue
PC cooler maker Asia Vital Components Co Ltd (AVC, 奇鋐) yesterday reported a net profit of NT$75 million for last month, or earnings per share of NT$0.21, up 17.6 percent from the same period last year. Revenue grew 14.73 percent year-on-year to NT$2.65 billion, a record high, AVC said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company is a major beneficiary of rising demand for base stations and servers, but as its shares have become volatile, the regulator required AVC to release last month’s financial results. Its shares closed 1.87 percent higher at NT$27.25 yesterday, after falling 4.29 percent on Thursday.
INTERNET
Bytedance deal mulled
Softbank Corp, KKR & Co and General Atlantic plan to make a giant investment in fast-rising Chinese Internet player Beijing Bytedance Technology Co Ltd (北京字節跳動科技), according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that could make it the world’s biggest start-up. The latest round of financing could value Bytedance, parent of news aggregator Toutiao (頭條) and video sensation Tik Tok (抖音), at about US$75 billion, the people said. The deal is still being discussed and the terms could change, the people said.
automAKERs
Level 4 vehicle unveiled
Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co Ltd (HAITEC, 華創車電技術中心), a Yulon Group (裕隆集團) affiliate, and PC brand Acer Inc (宏碁) on Thursday unveiled the nation’s first level 4 autonomous concept vehicle. The smart electric vehicle integrates core technologies such as data analysis and management, which cater to the nation’s complex road networks, Yulon Group said. The concept vehicle developed by HAITEC and Acer is designed based on an open source platform, providing companies interested in entering the field of autonomous vehicles easier access to research and development ecosystems, Yulon said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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