ENERGY
Taipower to hold bond sale
State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) plans to issue NT$17.1 billion (US$545 million) in unsecured corporate bonds next month. The funds raised from the bond sale would help finance several projects, such as the expansion of a coal power plant in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) and an upgrade of its coal power plant in Kaohsiung’s Dalin District (大林), the company said on Thursday. The new bonds include NT$3.4 billion in five-year bonds with a yield of 0.72 percent, NT$7.3 billion in seven-year bonds with a yield of 0.8 percent and NT$6.4 billion in 10-year bonds with a yield of 0.85 percent, Taipower said.
BANKING
Credit cards hit new high
Credit card spending in June hit a new monthly high as more consumers swiped cards to pay their taxes during the tax season, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission. Credit card spending in June reached NT$328.2 billion, up NT$60.3 billion, or 22.51 percent, from May, commission data showed. Credit card spending in the first six months of this year reached about NT$1.60 trillion, with total spending for the year expected to surpass NT$3 trillion, the commission said.
STOCK EXCHANGE
Major retail traders back up
The number of major retail investors who traded more than NT$500 million in shares in the second quarter rose 30.99 percent from a quarter earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said. There were 1,027 major market players during the April-to-June period, up from 784 in the first quarter, TWSE data showed. Prior to the first quarter, the number of major market players had remained above 1,000 for six quarters in a row.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
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
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
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