EQUITIES
Taiwan’s weighting lowered
Global index provider MSCI Inc last week cut Taiwan’s weighting in its Emerging Markets Index by 0.27 percentage points to 10.71 percent and lowered its weighting in the All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index by 0.17 percentage points to 12.71 percent, but left its weighting in the All-Country World Index unchanged at 1.28 percent. The changes are to take effect after the market closes on Aug. 28, MSCI said on Thursday. The Financial Supervisory Commission forecast that about US$1.1 billion in foreign funds would exit the local markets after the adjustments.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Reserves hit record high
Taiwan’s foreign-exchange reserves reached a record NT$467.23 billion (US$14.90 billion) at the end of last month, largely due to higher returns on the central bank’s investment portfolio, the bank’s data showed on Monday last week. The figure rose US$261 million, or 0.06 percent, from a month earlier, according to data compiled by the bank. The holdings of Taiwanese stocks, bonds and New Taiwan dollar-denominated deposits by foreign investors totaled US$376.8 billion at the end of last month, up from US$367.9 billion at the end of June.
BANKING
HSBC Holdings official quits
HSBC Holdings PLC’s greater China chief executive Helen Wong (黃碧娟) is leaving, a bank spokeswoman said on Friday, the second senior departure last week after the ousting of group chief executive officer John Flint. Wong’s role is to be dropped and Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China are to be run by the respective country heads, the spokeswoman said. Wong also resigned as chairwoman of HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀).
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which supplies advanced chips to Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc, yesterday reported NT$1.046 trillion (US$33.1 billion) in revenue for last quarter, driven by constantly strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips, falling in the upper end of its forecast. Based on TSMC’s financial guidance, revenue would expand about 22 percent sequentially to the range from US$32.2 billion to US$33.4 billion during the final quarter of 2024, it told investors in October last year. Last year in total, revenue jumped 31.61 percent to NT$3.81 trillion, compared with NT$2.89 trillion generated in the year before, according to
PRECEDENTED TIMES: In news that surely does not shock, AI and tech exports drove a banner for exports last year as Taiwan’s economic growth experienced a flood tide Taiwan’s exports delivered a blockbuster finish to last year with last month’s shipments rising at the second-highest pace on record as demand for artificial intelligence (AI) hardware and advanced computing remained strong, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Exports surged 43.4 percent from a year earlier to US$62.48 billion last month, extending growth to 26 consecutive months. Imports climbed 14.9 percent to US$43.04 billion, the second-highest monthly level historically, resulting in a trade surplus of US$19.43 billion — more than double that of the year before. Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) described the performance as “surprisingly outstanding,” forecasting export growth
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