STOCK MARKETS
Taiwan shares rise 1%
Shares in Taiwan rose by more than 1 percent yesterday following rallies in US markets, which received a boost after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House from the hospital after being treated for COVID-19. There was buying across the board, led by the bellwether electronics sector. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) benefited from a strong showing by its American depositary receipts on Monday, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 155.95 points, or 1.24 percent, at 12,704.23 on turnover of NT$163.506 billion (US$5.65 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$9.99 billion in shares, the exchange’s data showed. The moderate turnover showed that many investors were happy to stay on the sidelines ahead of the US presidential election on Nov. 3, dealers said.
COMPONENTS
Hiwin revenue surges
Revenue at linear-motion component supplier Hiwin Technologies Co (上銀科技) last month rose 10.33 percent monthly to NT$2.01 billion and surged 46.23 percent annually, the company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. The robust sales were boosted by rush orders, bringing the company’s third-quarter revenue to NT$5.87 billion, up 4.28 percent from the second quarter and the highest in five quarters, company data showed. Cumulative revenue for the first three quarters fell 6.69 percent annually to NT$15.11 billion, Hiwin said. With clear order visibility, particularly on the semiconductor, 5G, healthcare and industrial automation fronts, Hiwin said it is positive about its business in the final three months of the year.
TECHNOLOGY
Institutes win R&D awards
Three research institutes garnered six awards at the annual R&D100 science and technology competition, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced on Monday. The awards recognize the 100 most significant technological products of the year. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (工研院) won three awards for its applications: a miniature solar cell, a safer electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries and a smart wound dressing, the ministry said. The Metal Industry Research and Development Center (金屬工業研究發展中心) secured two awards for a drone that detects turbine blade damage without stopping the turbine and a magnesium alloy whose reaction to water can be controlled, the ministry said. The Institute for Information Industry (資策會) won an award for its digital twin solution for quality control in the bicycle manufacturing sector, the ministry said.
BANKING
Transfer service launched
Eight financial institutions in Taiwan on Wednesday last week launched services that enable interbank electronic fund transfers using a mobile phone number. The service allows people to access their bank accounts and conduct interbank fund transfers with immediate confirmation using their mobile phone number as validation of their identity, government-funded Financial Information Service Co (FISC, 財金公司) said in a statement. The eight institutions that launched the service were Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行), Cota Commercial Bank (三信商銀), Far Eastern International Bank (遠東銀行), Yuanta Commercial Bank (元大銀行) and KGI Commercial Bank (凱基銀行). About 20 other banks are expected to offer the service by the first quarter of next year, FISC said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six