EQUITIES
TAIEX up 0.37 percent
The TAIEX yesterday closed higher, but came off an earlier high as investors locked in profits ahead of stiff technical resistance at about 16,000 points. Large-cap semiconductor stocks saw more obvious profit-taking during the session, while buying continued to rotate to the old economy and financial sectors to give the broader market a boost, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 58.58 points, or 0.37 percent, at 15,911.67, on turnover of NT$260.011 billion (US$9.18 billion). Despite the gains in the TAIEX, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$3.82 billion of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC posts February record
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday reported a new sales record for February, with analysts attributing the growth to strong demand for the company’s high-end processors. TSMC said in a statement that it posted NT$106.53 billion in consolidated sales last month, the most ever in February and up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. Last month’s sales fell 15.9 percent month-on-month due to the reduced number of working days caused by the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday. Analysts said that with more working days this month, TSMC is expected to see month-on-month sales rebound. In the first two months of this year, TSMC generated sales of NT$233.28 billion, up 18.4 percent from a year earlier.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Phoenix sues over secrets
Silicon wafer recycler Phoenix Silicon International Corp (昇陽半導體) has filed a suit at the Hsinchu District Court against Integrated Service Technology Inc (宜特) and its employees, seeking damages of NT$5.64 billion for the alleged theft and use of its trade secrets. Phoenix said in a statement on Tuesday that Integrated Service Technology employees surnamed Lee (李) and Liu (劉) accessed 13 of its trade secrets, which Integrated Service Technology has appropriated. Integrated Service Technology denied the allegation and said that it would not rule out filing a lawsuit against Phoenix for smearing its name.
BANKING
King’s Town fined NT$1.8m
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday fined King’s Town Bank (京城銀行) NT$1.8 million and Shinkong Insurance Co (新光產險) NT$600,000 for breaching the Insurance Act (保險法). The commission found that King’s Town Bank changed its clients’ fire insurance policies without their approval, causing five clients to be overcharged by NT$3,153 from 2018 to last year, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director-General Chang Yu-hui (張玉輝) said. Shinkong Insurance, which offered the fire insurance products for King’s Town Bank, ignored that some applicants did not sign their documents, the commission said.
APPAREL
Quang Viet’s revenue drops
Down jacket and outdoor garment maker Quang Viet Enterprise Co (廣越企業) on Tuesday said that its revenue fell 16.43 percent to NT$446 million last month, from NT$533.77 million a year earlier. Quang Viet said the drop was milder than it had expected. The company said that orders have started coming in, and it expects a significant improvement in revenue next quarter. The firm reported that its annual declines in revenue have decreased over the past two months, from a 38 percent year-on-year slump in December last year.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS