EQUITIES
TAIEX breaches 12,000
The TAIEX yesterday closed higher, with late-session buying vaulting the index past 12,000 points amid reduced trade tensions between the US and China, dealers said. The bellwether electronics sector again led the broader market higher as shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) rebounded, while other large-cap shares in the old economy and financial sectors rose on ample liquidity, they said. The TAIEX closed up 63.15 points, or 0.53 percent, at 12,022.23 on turnover of NT$111.639 billion (US$3.69 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$2.32 billion of shares on the main board, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
STOCK MARKETS
Cathay ETFs to be delisted
The Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday said that it would delist two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by Cathay Securities Investment Trust Co (國泰證券投信) from Feb. 4, as the average net asset value of the two funds had fallen below NT$100 million for 30 consecutive business days as of Dec. 10. The two ETFs are Cathay FTSE Japan Daily Leveraged 2X ETF and Cathay FTSE Japan Daily Inversed ETF. Cathay Securities Investment Trust applied to the regulator for the ETFs to be terminated and the applications have been approved, the exchange said in a statement.
DAIRIES
IPG to buy Ausnutria shares
Oral liquid formulations maker Center Laboratories Inc (晟德大藥廠) yesterday said that its board of directors approved a plan to sell 15 million common shares in Hong Kong-listed Ausnutria Dairy Corp (澳優乳業) to Infinite Perfection Group Ltd (IPG, 致美集團) at HK$9 per share, or HK$135 million (US$17.3 million). In addition, BioEngine Capital Inc (玉晟生技), a subsidiary of Center Laboratories, also plans to sell 10 million Ausnutria Dairy shares to IPG for HK$90 million, according to separate filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Overall, Center Laboratories said it expects to book a gain of NT$351.26 million from the share sale, while the group would still own a 21.77 percent stake in Ausnutria Dairy after the sale.
CHIPMAKERS
Macronix capex approved
Memorychip maker Macronix International Co (旺宏電子) yesterday said that its board of directors approved a capital expenditure (capex) budget for next year of NT$8.7 billion to expand its latest 3D NAND chip manufacturing facilities. The company plans to activate the investment in the first quarter of next year, and proposes to use its own capital and syndicated loans to fund the new spending, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company plans to ship its first 3D 48-layer NAND flash chips in the second half of next year.
AUTO PARTS
Revenues disappoint
Revenues of local auto parts suppliers were mostly lower than expected last month, despite the arrival of the high-sales season, Jih Sun Securities Investment Consulting Co (日盛投顧) said in a client note. As the situation in the two major auto markets — the US and China — has not improved, the auto parts industry is expected to report lower revenue for this year compared with last year, before a gradual improvement in the first quarter of next year on the back of the peak-season effect, Jih Sun said. Revenues would depend on the progress of US-China trade talks, inventory destocking in China and the progress of mass production at Tesla Inc’s Shanghai plant, it said.
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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