EQUITIES
TAIEX closes above 11,000
Local shares yesterday moved higher, closing above 11,000 points on the back of an overnight rally in US markets, as investors embraced expectations that businesses would reopen and the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by US-based Novavax Inc. However, the upturn was limited, with some investors shifting into sell mode after Washington reacted to security laws proposed by China to tighten control over Hong Kong, dealers said. The TAIEX ended up 17.45 points, or 0.16 percent, at 11,014.66 on turnover of NT$156.24 billion (US$5.2 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$332 million of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. After breaking 11,000, the TAIEX might need to consolidate, analysts said.
CHIPMAKERS
Macronix approves dividend
Memorychip maker Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), which claims 23.8 percent of the world’s NOR flash memory market, yesterday said that shareholders at an annual general meeting approved a proposal to pay a cash dividend of NT$1.2 per common share. The distribution represents a 3.55 percent dividend yield based on the stock’s closing price of NT$33.85 yesterday in Taipei. Shareholders also approved NT$544.33 million in compensation for employees and NT$72.58 million for the board directors, as well as a proposal to raise funds by issuing up to 360 million common shares, the firm said.
CHIPMAKERS
Powerchip takes new head
Foundry and memorychip maker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) yesterday said that it has tapped former AP Memory Technology Corp (愛普科技) president Gu Jun (顧峻) as the new copresident of its memory business group in a bid to enhance its research and development. Gu worked at Intel Corp and Cypress Semiconductor Corp before joining AP Memory in 2011. Chief technology officer Chang Shou-ren (張守仁) has also been promoted to vice president, it said, adding that the changes take effect on Monday next week.
ENERGY
Wpd’s deal to limit bird loss
Offshore wind energy developer Wpd Taiwan Energy Co Ltd (達德能源) yesterday signed a contract worth nearly NT$70 million with WeatherRisk Explore Inc (天氣風險) to monitor bird activity around Wpd’s planned 640 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Yunlin County and help minimize the project’s impact on bird migration. Surveillance equipment such as cameras and microphones would be installed on the transitional wind turbines, with radars to be preinstalled on the turbine components, Wpd said. The wind farm’s 80 8MW wind turbines are to be completed by the end of next year.
BUILDING SERVICES
FDC to help TCC (Hangzhou)
TCC (Hangzhou) Environmental Protection Technology Co Ltd (台泥環保科技), a wholly owned subsidiary of Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥), yesterday signed a deal covering management services, marketing and trademark licensing with FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際). Under the agreement, FDC would assist TCC (Hangzhou) in planning technical assistance and services for the parent company’s new building in Hangzhou, China, Taiwan Cement said in a statement. TCC (Hangzhou) would also entrust FDC assisting in operating and managing the building, it added. FDC said that it would provide TCC (Hangzhou) with marketing services and license it to use its trademark. FDC is part of the TCC Group (台泥集團).
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said the DRAM supply crunch could extend through 2028, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has led the world’s major memory makers to dramatically reduce production of standard DRAM and allocate a significant portion of their capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The most severe supply constraints would stretch to the first half of next year due to “very limited” increases in new DRAM capacity worldwide, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a news briefing. The company plans to increase monthly 12-inch wafer capacity to 20,000 in the first half of 2028 after a
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
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