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).
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day