ECONOMY
M1B grows 10.96 percent
Last month’s M1B — a measure of money in circulation — grew 10.96 percent year-on-year, outpacing July’s annual increase of 10.3 percent, while M2 — which includes M1B, time deposits, foreign-currency deposits and mutual funds — rose 6.69 percent, compared with 5.89 percent a month earlier, the central bank said yesterday. The bank attributed the increases to the effects of rising time deposits, as well as further growth in bank loans and investments. In the first eight months of this year, the average annual growth rates of M1B and M2 were 8.53 percent and 4.97 percent respectively, compared with 8.17 percent and 4.72 percent respectively in the first seven months, bank tallies showed.
FINANCE
Chailease income jumps
Chailease Holding Co Ltd (中租控股) yesterday reported consolidated net income of NT$1.51 billion (US$51.5 million) for last month, up 14 percent year-on-year and 3 percent month-on-month, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.09. The company said that it had been less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and had good sales and earnings growth momentum from Taiwan, China and the ASEAN. Chailease focuses on asset-based financing to small and medium-sized enterprises and retail customers. In the first eight months of this year, cumulative net income rose 6 percent annually to NT$10.86 billion, or EPS of NT$7.86.
TEXTILES
Plant closed due to fire
Far Eastern New Century Corp’s (遠東新世紀) production lines at a plant in Hsinchu County’s Sinpu Township (新埔) have been temporarily shut down after a fire at about 9:20pm on Wednesday, the polyester and textile maker said yesterday. The fire was caused by Dowtherm leakage due to a malfunction in a coal water mixture pump, it said in a regulatory filing. The fire was extinguished in 20 minutes and no casualties occurred, it said, adding that it expects the incident to have no material impact on its finances and operations, thanks to its insurance coverage.
REAL ESTATE
Evertrust increases forecast
Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房屋) yesterday adjusted upward its housing transaction forecast for this year from 309,000 to 315,000 units, which is 3 to 5 percent higher than last year’s level and the highest in six years. Better control of the COVID-19 pandemic, a low-interest rate environment and capital inflows are the major factors behind its bullish expectation, Evertrust said. About 48 percent of respondents in a poll said that they expect housing prices to rise in the fourth quarter, compared with 19 percent expecting prices to drop, it said, citing a survey it conducted between Aug. 15 and Aug. 30.
INTERNET
Google hosts courses
Google Taiwan is to host a series of courses, in person and online, over the next few months to help teachers learn how to use its digital education services. The in-person courses are to take place at schools in Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei and Taoyuan, and Changhua and Yilan counties, the company said yesterday. For those who cannot attend the courses in person, Google Taiwan is also to host courses online covering similar material, it said on its Web site. The online courses are to be held from 8pm to 9pm every Tuesday and Thursday from Oct. 6 to Nov. 12, it said.
ADVANCED: Previously, Taiwanese chip companies were restricted from building overseas fabs with technology less than two generations behind domestic factories Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), a major chip supplier to Nvidia Corp, would no longer be restricted from investing in next-generation 2-nanometer chip production in the US, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. However, the ministry added that the world’s biggest contract chipmaker would not be making any reckless decisions, given the weight of its up to US$30 billion investment. To safeguard Taiwan’s chip technology advantages, the government has barred local chipmakers from making chips using more advanced technologies at their overseas factories, in China particularly. Chipmakers were previously only allowed to produce chips using less advanced technologies, specifically
The New Taiwan dollar is on the verge of overtaking the yuan as Asia’s best carry-trade target given its lower risk of interest-rate and currency volatility. A strategy of borrowing the New Taiwan dollar to invest in higher-yielding alternatives has generated the second-highest return over the past month among Asian currencies behind the yuan, based on the Sharpe ratio that measures risk-adjusted relative returns. The New Taiwan dollar may soon replace its Chinese peer as the region’s favored carry trade tool, analysts say, citing Beijing’s efforts to support the yuan that can create wild swings in borrowing costs. In contrast,
VERTICAL INTEGRATION: The US fabless company’s acquisition of the data center manufacturer would not affect market competition, the Fair Trade Commission said The Fair Trade Commission has approved Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s (AMD) bid to fully acquire ZT International Group Inc for US$4.9 billion, saying it would not hamper market competition. As AMD is a fabless company that designs central processing units (CPUs) used in consumer electronics and servers, while ZT is a data center manufacturer, the vertical integration would not affect market competition, the commission said in a statement yesterday. ZT counts hyperscalers such as Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Google among its major clients and plays a minor role in deciding the specifications of data centers, given the strong bargaining power of
TARIFF SURGE: The strong performance could be attributed to the growing artificial intelligence device market and mass orders ahead of potential US tariffs, analysts said The combined revenue of companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange for the whole of last year totaled NT$44.66 trillion (US$1.35 trillion), up 12.8 percent year-on-year and hit a record high, data compiled by investment consulting firm CMoney showed on Saturday. The result came after listed firms reported a 23.92 percent annual increase in combined revenue for last month at NT$4.1 trillion, the second-highest for the month of December on record, and posted a 15.63 percent rise in combined revenue for the December quarter at NT$12.25 billion, the highest quarterly figure ever, the data showed. Analysts attributed the
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