EQUITIES
Investors lock in gains
The TAIEX yesterday closed lower in a volatile session, as investors shifted to the sell side to lock in earlier gains amid concerns over the attitude of foreign institutional investors who have increased short-term futures contracts in recent sessions, dealers said. Market sentiment has also been affected by an increase in domestic COVID-19 cases related to a hospital in Taoyuan, with many investors fearing that an escalation of the disease would hamper economic activity, they said. However, contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained resilient, preventing the broader market from falling further, they added. The TAIEX ended down 71.19 points, or 0.45 percent, at 15,806.18, on turnover of NT$414.877 billion (US$14.601 billion). Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$21.55 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. TSMC shares finished up 3.19 percent to close at a historic high of NT$647.00.
INVESTMENT
TWSE cohosts conference
The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and MasterLink Securities Co (元富證券) yesterday held an investment conference in Taipei that featured in-person and online meetings in the same event, and held 25 one-on-one meetings between local listed firms and institutional investors in Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia, the exchange said in a statement. The forum, titled “Great Reset — New Industry Landscape after COVID-19,” received positive participant feedback, it said. The keynote address focused on corporate governance developments among local listed companies, it said. “The new format integrating physical and online meetings successfully increased interaction between listed companies and investors,” the exchange said. “The TWSE will continue to organize events for investors that introduce strongly performing listed companies to fuel local economic growth.”
BANKING
First Web-only bank opens
Rakuten International Commercial Bank Co (樂天國際商銀) on Tuesday opened for business, becoming Taiwan’s first Web-only bank. Backed by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc, the bank is one of three that have received digital banking licenses from the Financial Supervisory Commission. The bank features the Happy Program, a customer loyalty program that earns rewards from transactions, and the Rakuten Ecosystem, a virtual marketplace of products and services that make life easier for its members. Also introduced are New Taiwan dollar-denominated time deposits with maturities as short as seven days.
SEMICONDUCTORS
MediaTek ranked No. 8
MediaTek Inc (聯發科) last year took the eighth spot in the global semiconductor brand rankings, up five places from 2019, after sales increased 38.3 percent annually to US$11.01 billion, Gartner Inc said in a report on Thursday last week. MediaTek and US-based Qualcomm Inc last year benefited from record sales of 5G applications, the report said. Qualcomm last year posted US$17.91 billion in revenue, up 31.5 percent, to become the fifth-largest semiconductor brand, while Intel Corp remained No. 1 after it posted US$70.24 billion in sales, up 3.7 percent from a year earlier, it said. Samsung Electronics Co remained No. 2, after generating US$56.20 billion in sales, up 7.7 percent from a year earlier, ahead of DRAM makers SK Hynix Inc (US$25.27 billion, up 13.3 percent) and Micron Technology Inc (US$22.10 billion, up 9.1 percent), Gartner said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to post a 25 percent year-on-year increase in sales in the first quarter of this year to US$12.91 billion, up from US$10.31 billion a year earlier, as its production is at full capacity, market advisory firm TrendForce Corp said in a note last week. The increase would help TSMC cement its leadership in the industry by taking a 56 percent market share in the global pure wafer foundry business, TrendForce said. Its forecast was in line with TSMC’s estimate in January, which pointed to a range of US$12.7 billion to US$13 billion for the
RECRUITMENT: The latest hiring drive — for fabs in Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan — aims to catch up with growth in the company and new technology development Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday unveiled a plan to hire 9,000 people this year in the latest round of recruitment as the chipmaker races to boost capacity to alleviate a chip crunch and safeguard its technology advantage. TSMC’s talent recruitment this year might be the most ambitious in its history, while last year’s drive of 8,000 added recruits doubled the 4,000 new hires that it averaged over the preceding few years. The latest drive — for fabs in Hsinchu, Taichung and Tainan — aims to catch up with growth in the company and new technology development, the Hsinchu-based chipmaker said. The
RARE POSITION: IHS Markit expects exports to increase by about 13 percent this year, as demand for electronics worldwide has recovered significantly since last year Taiwan’s economy might expand 4.1 percent this year, accelerating from a 3.11 percent pickup last year, as its exports would continue to benefit from surging demand for electronics products amid and after the COVID-19 pandemic, global research body IHS Markit said yesterday. Taiwan has been one of the world’s most resilient economies during the pandemic-triggered recession last year. Economic indicators at the beginning of this year signal improving growth momentum for its economy over the coming months, as the global economy and trade rebounds, the US-British information provider said. According to the latest IHS Markit survey of business confidence in Taiwan, the
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 supplier of silicon wafers, yesterday said that it has acquired a 70.27 percent stake in German competitor Siltronic AG, in a public bid that ended four days ago. With the acquisition of a controlling stake in Siltronic, the Taiwanese company is to become the world’s second-largest silicon wafer supplier. Last month, GlobalWafers secured more than 50 percent of Siltronic shares with an offer of 4.35 billion euros (US$5.2 billion) in a public tender that was due to end on Feb. 10, but the acceptance period was extended until Monday. In a statement released yesterday, the Hsinchu-based
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