INSURANCE
Taiwan Life to buy Neihu digs
Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險) on Friday last week reached an agreement with Easy Finder Publishing Ltd (壹本便利出版) to purchase Hong Kong-based Next Digital Ltd’s (壹傳媒) two office buildings and parking space in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) for NT$1.79 billion (US$58.09 million). After the deal is approved by shareholders, Next Digital is to lease back the office buildings that are used by Chinese-language Apple Daily, Next Magazine and Next TV.
COMPUTERS
Micro-Star names new head
Micro-Star International Co (微星), a leading maker of PC motherboards, graphics cards and gaming computers, on Friday last week said its board of directors approved the appointment of executive vice president Chiang Sheng-chang (江勝昌) as the company’s new president and chief executive officer. Chairman and president The new appointment takes effect on Jan. 1, a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
TEXTILES
Wisher sells Chinese shares
Woven fabric and polyester yarn producer Wisher Industrial Co (偉全) on Friday last week said it is selling off its shares in two Chinese subsidiaries, amid worries about rising US-China trade tensions and stricter environmental protection standards in China. Wisher said it would sell all of its shares in Shenglong Textile (Huizhou) Co Ltd (盛龍紡織惠州) and Weiquan Chemical Fibre (Huizhou) Co Ltd (偉全化纖惠州) to Shenzhen Huada Electric Circuit Technology Co Ltd (深圳華大電路科技) with a disposal gain of nearly 100 million yuan (US$14.37 million). Wisher said it would focus its operations at plants in Taoyuan’s Lujhu District (蘆竹) and in Hsinchu County’s Hsinfeng Township (新豐).
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) suffered its biggest stock decline in more than a month after the company unveiled new artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but did not provide hoped-for information on customers or financial performance. The stock slid 4 percent to US$164.18 on Thursday, the biggest single-day drop since Sept. 3. Shares of the company remain up 11 percent this year. AMD has emerged as the biggest contender to Nvidia Corp in the lucrative market of AI processors. The company’s latest chips would exceed some capabilities of its rival, AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) said at an event hosted by
AVIATION: Despite production issues in the US, the Taoyuan-based airline expects to receive 24 passenger planes on schedule, while one freight plane is delayed The ongoing strike at Boeing Co has had only a minor impact on China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), although the delivery of a new cargo jet might be postponed, CAL chairman Hsieh Su-chien (謝世謙) said on Saturday. The 24 Boeing 787-9 passenger aircraft on order would be delivered on schedule from next year to 2028, while one 777F freight aircraft would be delayed, Hsieh told reporters at a company event. Boeing, which announced a decision on Friday to cut 17,000 jobs — about one-tenth of its workforce — is facing a strike by 33,000 US west coast workers that has halted production
TECH JUGGERNAUT: TSMC shares have more than doubled since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, as demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips remains high Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday posted a better-than-expected 39 percent rise in quarterly revenue, assuaging concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) hardware spending is beginning to taper off. The main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc reported third-quarter sales of NT$759.69 billion (US$23.6 billion), compared with the average analyst projection of NT$748 billion. For last month alone, TSMC reported revenue jumped 39.6 percent year-on-year to NT$251.87 billion. Taiwan’s largest company is to disclose its full third-quarter earnings on Thursday next week and update its outlook. Hsinchu-based TSMC produces the cutting-edge chips needed to train AI. The company now makes more
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