BANKING
Mortgage rates remain low
The home mortgage rates of five major state-run banks last month remained at 1.359 percent, the second-lowest level on record, for the fourth consecutive month due to fierce competition among banks, while new home loans fell to NT$55.346 billion (US$1.91 billion), according to data released yesterday by the central bank. The average interest rate for new loans offered by Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行), Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) last month fell to 1.237 percent, down from 1.272 percent in August, the central bank said.
ELECTRONICS
Tatung shares rise 10%
Tatung Co (大同) shares yesterday rose by 10 percent, the maximum daily limit, to NT$21.35 after the company held an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting the previous day to elect a new board of directors. The Taiwan Stock Exchange announced that it would resume normal trading of the company’s shares from today. On Wednesday, activist investors led by Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥) won seven seats on Tatung’s nine-member board, ending the founding Lin (林) family’s 102-year control of the company.
STEELMAKERS
Feng Hsin reports Q3 profit
Feng Hsin Steel Co (豐興鋼鐵) yesterday reported third-quarter net profit increased 19 percent quarterly and 111 percent annually to NT$764 million, or earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.31, the highest this year. Gross margin also improved to 16 percent last quarter, up from 14 percent in the previous quarter and 9 percent a year earlier, the company said. The Taichung-based company said that it is positive on steel demand for this quarter on the back of government infrastructure programs and the return of overseas Taiwanese businesses. In the first three quarters, Feng Hsin reported cumulative EPS of NT$3.29, compared with NT$2.55 a year earlier.
ELECTRONICS
Hon Hai sells Alibaba shares
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) subsidiary Foxconn Ventures Holding Co (富士康創投控股) has sold off its remaining shares in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) to book US$130.08 million in investment gains, Hon Hai said yesterday. Foxconn Ventures sold 630,000 American depositary receipts of Alibaba at US$310.68 each, for a total transaction value of US$195.73 million, Hon Hai said in a regulatory filing. About US$68 million would be transferred into unappropriated retained earnings for last year, as required by International Financial Reporting Standard 9 guidelines, while US$62.11 million would be recognized as a valuation gain this year, it said.
AUTOMAKERS
Pan German plans showroom
Pan German Universal Motors Ltd’s (汎德永業汽車) board of directors has approved plans to build a four-floor multifunction showroom for Porsche vehicles in Taichung, and to expand its vehicle repair and maintenance services in the region, it said yesterday. The NT$886 million project is to open in the third quarter of 2022, the company said. The new investment reflects its optimism about Porsche’s sales prospects, as well as the potential for imported vehicles in Taichung, said Pan German, which distributes BMW, Porsche and Mini vehicles in Taiwan.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
Catastrophic computer outages caused by a software update from one company have once again exposed the dangers of global technological dependence on a handful of players, experts said on Friday. A flawed update sent out by the little-known security firm CrowdStrike Holdings Inc brought airlines, TV stations and myriad other aspects of daily life to a standstill. The outages affected companies or individuals that use CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Inc’s Windows platform. When they applied the update, the incompatible software crashed computers into a frozen state known as the “blue screen of death.” “Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in