EQUITIES
Volatility spooks market
The TAIEX yesterday closed lower as investors remained concerned over further volatility on global markets as COVID-19 continues to spread. Large-cap technology shares were in the doldrums throughout the session, while selling in the petrochemical sector added downward pressure, despite an agreement reached by oil producers to cut output to bolster prices. The TAIEX closed down 58.39 points, or 0.57 percent, at 10,099.22 on turnover of NT$118.358 billion (US$3.93 billion). Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$7.59 billion of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
ELECTRONICS
Ichia sees sequential growth
Ichia Technologies Inc (毅嘉科技) yesterday posted pretax income of NT$14.22 million for the first quarter, despite consolidated revenue declining 20 percent year-on-year to NT$1.13 billion because of production disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a better product mix and improved management efficiency, gross margin improved 2 percentage points year-on-year to 10 percent in the first three months of the year, the flexible printed circuit board and handset keypad maker said. The outlook for this quarter would be better, as clients have started to replenish their inventories, Ichia said. The company also expects revenue and earnings to increase sequentially this year thanks to steady orders and improving production.
CHIP RESISTORS
Ta-i income rises 77.78%
Chip resistor supplier Ta-i Technology Co (大毅) yesterday posted net income of NT$80 million for last month, up 77.78 percent year-on-year, while revenue rose 28.98 percent to NT$383 million year-on-year. Earnings per share surged 134.55 percent year-on-year to NT$0.56, the company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Ta-i released the results at the request of the regulator due to an unusual spike in its share price. Ta-i shares yesterday fell 2.95 percent to close at NT$69 in Taipei trading. They have surged 27.07 percent in the past seven sessions, compared with the TAIEX’s 2.86 percent rise over the same period.
MARKETING
Hakuhodo deal approved
The Investment Commission yesterday approved Japanese marketing agency Hakuhodo Inc’s acquisition of advertising firm Growww Media Co Ltd (格威傳媒) via its local unit, Hakuhodo Taipei Investment Inc (台灣博報堂). Hakuhodo Inc in February announced a plan to acquire Growww Media via a tender offer, aiming to purchase 78.81 percent of the firm’s outstanding shares at NT$69 per share, a total investment of NT$1.85 billion. The Japanese company also plans a NT$2.5 billion rights issue to obtain a 100 percent stake in Hakuhodo Taipei.
FOOD DELIVERIES
Meituan rebuts criticism
China’s largest food-delivery provider, Meituan Dianping (美團點評), has hit back at allegations that it has charged onerous commissions to restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Responding to a complaint from a restaurant association in Guangdong Province, Meituan said that its average profit per order was less than 0.2 yuan (US$0.03) in the fourth quarter, accounting for just 2 percent of its revenue. After it launched, the company lost money for five years before breaking even last year, it added. “We need to invest most of our income to help merchants develop professional delivery services, acquire orders and improve digital infrastructure,” Meituan said in a statement.
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
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
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
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday
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