EQUITIES
TAIEX closes at record
The TAIEX moved sharply higher yesterday as the bellwether electronics sector steamed ahead, helping the index overcome technical hurdles to breach 13,700 points. Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) led the upturn on continued optimism toward its fundamentals, dealers said. Other tech stocks in the supply chain of China’s Huawei Technologies Inc (華為) also attracted buying after the news that Huawei would dispose of its Honor (榮耀) smartphone brand to skirt sanctions imposed by the US, they said. The TAIEX ended up 180.28 points, or 1.33 percent, at an all-time closing high of 13,773.29. Turnover was NT$229.678 billion (US$7.99 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$21.14 billion of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
CHEMICALS
TPCC trading to be halted
Trading of Taiwan Prosperity Chemical Corp (TPCC, 信昌化工) shares are to be suspended from Jan. 12 as the company plans to go private and become a 100 percent owned subsidiary under Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥), the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. TPCC shares would be delisted from the main board on Jan. 18, the exchange said. TPCC on Tuesday reported that it turned profitable last quarter, following six consecutive quarters of losses. Net income was NT$2.95 million, compared with a net loss of NT$527.05 million a year earlier. In the first three quarters of this year, the company suffered a net loss of NT$728.4 million, compared with a net loss of NT$774.58 million in the same period last year.
E-COMMERCE
Two firms face trade freeze
Trading in the shares of Kuobrothers Corp (創業家兄弟), an e-commerce operator, and Mobix Corp (松果購物), an e-commerce platform invested by Kuobrothers, would be halted from today on the nation’s over-the-counter market pending the release of material information by the companies, the Taipei Exchange announced yesterday. The exchange did not disclose further details, saying only that the companies would apply for trading to resume after the information is released.
AVIATION
EGAT may cut capitalization
Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp’s (EGAT, 長榮航太) board of directors have agreed to cut the firm’s capitalization by NT$3 billion, or 45.96 percent, in an effort to improve shareholder returns. After the capital reduction, its paid-in capital would be NT$3.54 billion, the firm said in a regulatory filing, adding that the proposal is subject to shareholders’ approval at an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Dec. 4. EGAT is 79 percent owned by EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) and the reduction scheme is expected to return NT$2.38 billion, or earnings per share of NT$0.49, to EVA.
TRADE
RCEP meeting planned
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) on Tuesday said that her ministry would be holding a meeting with representatives from the local steel, petrochemicals, automotive, textile and plastics industries on Sunday about the possible effects of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The trade deal was signed by 15 APEC countries on Sunday. “This is just the initial action so we can exchange thoughts with the most affected industries,” Wang said, adding that the Industrial Development Bureau would arrange meetings with other industries likely to be affected by the deal.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
Memory chip stocks extended their losses yesterday after Alphabet Inc’s Google publicized research that could allow more efficient use of the storage needed for artificial intelligence (AI) development. SK Hynix Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, South Korean leaders in the market, fell more than 6 percent and about 5 percent respectively in Seoul. In the US, Micron Technology Inc, Western Digital Corp and Sandisk Corp slid more than 2 percent in pre-market trading, after they all closed lower on Wednesday. Memory companies have been on a tear in recent months as the rapid development of AI infrastructure triggered a spike in chip
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