INVESTMENT
Eight projects approved
The Investment Commission yesterday approved eight investment projects totaling NT$25.8 billion (US$885.81 million): two foreign direct investment projects in Taiwan, one investment project in the US and five investment projects in China. The foreign projects are in renewable energy, with GRP III Taiwan UK Ltd buying NT$7.6 billion of stock in New Green Power Co (永鑫能源), a photovoltaic systems company, and Germany-based Yunlin Holding GMB investing NT$2.8 billion in Yunneng Wind Power Co (允能風力發電), the developer of a Yunlin offshore wind farm, the commission said. Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) also gained approval to invest NT$5.46 billion in its US-based subsidiary, Formosa Industries Corp (台塑工業美國), it added.
SHIPPING
Yang Ming names new head
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) yesterday announced that its board of directors approved the appointment of National Development Council Deputy Minister Cheng Chen-mount (鄭貞茂) as company chairman and CEO from today. Cheng replaces Bronson Hsieh (謝志堅), who retired yesterday. Cheng in 2018 joined the board as a representative of the National Development Fund, which is Yang Ming’s second-largest shareholder, the company said in a statement, adding that Cheng has become familiar with the container shipper’s operations and strategies over the past two years.
ELECTRONICS
Unity Opto to be delisted
LED company Unity Opto Technology Co (東貝光電) yesterday said that its shares are to be delisted from the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Nov. 10, as its book value has fallen into negative territory, a company regulatory filing showed. Unity Opto’s book value fell to minus-NT$5.27 per share by the end of last year due to chronic losses. The debt-ridden firm last year posted losses of NT$7.31 billion, or losses per share of NT$15.86. The company has yet to submit financial statements for this year to regulators.
AUTOMAKERS
Hua-chuang’s Huang retires
Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center (華創車電) vice president Huang Chen-hung (黃振宏) has retired, parent company Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) said in a statement. Hua-chuang Automobile is 100 percent owned by Yulon Motor. Huang’s retirement preceded the creation of an electric-vehicle venture between Yulon Motor and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密). Hon Hai plans to unveil an outlook and blueprint for the venture on Oct. 16, while Yulon Motor said that the venture is to begin by the end of this year.
ELECTRONICS
Sony unveils 5G Xperia 5 II
Sony Mobile Taiwan has launched its flagship 5G Xperia 5 II smartphone in Taiwan for the price of NT$29,990. The Xperia 5 II builds on the success of the Xperia 1 II 5G, Sony Mobile Taiwan president Jonathan Lin (林志遠) told a launch ceremony on Monday. “The Xperia 1 II 5G was the best-selling flagship Android phone in June, July and August,” Lin said, adding that the two phones’ features mostly share the same specifications, while the Xperia 5 II is smaller and has a 6.1-inch screen. Product marketing manager Jerry Peng (彭浩正) said that the camera can take a string of 20 photographs auto-focused on the eyes, to spontaneously capture the subject’s emotions.
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
RSS