EQUITIES
TAIEX closes at new high
The TAIEX yesterday moved sharply upward to close at a new high, with buying focused on semiconductor shares amid optimism on the industry’s outlook. Market sentiment was also lifted by news that pharmaceutical companies Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE on Friday last week applied for emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration to supply their COVID-19 vaccine, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 161.57 points, or 1.18 percent, at 13,878.01 on turnover of NT$234.995 billion (US$8.16 billion). That topped the previous closing high of 13,773.29 on Wednesday last week. Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$10.88 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreigners change tack
Foreign investors last week bought a net NT$49.93 billion of shares, after they sold a net NT$44.18 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. The top three shares purchased by foreign investors were United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Macronix International Co Ltd (旺宏) and Yuanta Financial Holding Co Ltd (元大金控), while the top three sold were Innolux Corp (群創), E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) and China Petrochemical Development Corp (中石化), the exchange said. As of Friday last week, foreign investors had sold a net NT$558.11 billion of shares this year, while foreign investors accounted for 44.71 percent of market capitalization over the period, it said.
FABRIC MAKERS
Cathay shares to debut
Technical fabrics manufacturer Cathay Consolidated Inc (八貫企業) is to debut its shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange today, becoming the fifth domestic company to list on the main board this year, the exchange said yesterday. Cathay Consolidated produces thermoplastic polyurethane for the healthcare and aviation sectors. The company has set its initial public offering price at NT$55 per share. It reported earnings per share of NT$2.20, NT$2.80 and NT$3.08 from 2017 to last year respectively. In the first three quarters of this year, it posted earnings per share of NT$2.65, compared with NT$2.56 in the same period last year.
SECURITY SYSTEMS
AC&C to be suspended
Shares of AC&C International Co Ltd (鈞泰國際), a local supplier of security monitoring products and video surveillance systems, are to be suspended tomorrow, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. AC&C shares have been placed under an altered trading method since Nov. 21, 2018, due to changes in the company’s management and the scope of its business, the exchange said. If the company cannot achieve a marked improvement in its financial situation in the next six months, its shares would be delisted, the exchange said. AC&C reported a net loss of NT$27.75 million in the third quarter, with its cumulative total net loss rising to NT$52.88 million in the first three quarters of the year.
TRADE
Hong Kong eyeing RCEP
Hong Kong hopes to be part of the first new group of economies to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) after the agreement takes effect, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan (陳茂波) said in a blog post on Sunday. Total bilateral trade between Hong Kong and the 15 member states of RCEP accounts for 71 percent of Hong Kong’s total trade in goods, Chan wrote.
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon 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. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
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