The COVID-19 pandemic did not cast a shadow over the nation’s 1,736 publicly traded companies, with their combined pretax profit rising 21.04 percent from a year earlier to a record NT$3.11 trillion (US$109.18 billion) last year, as firms in the technology sector benefited from new businesses, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
That followed an annual decline of 9.84 percent in pretax profit from NT$2.84 trillion in 2018 to NT$2.56 trillion in 2019, commission data showed.
All TWSE-listed companies, except for KY stocks, saw their overall revenue increase 1.08 percent year-on-year to NT$32.26 trillion and their combined pretax profit expand 21.7 percent to NT$2.8 trillion, the data showed.
KY stocks refer to overseas Taiwanese businesses with a primary listing on the nation’s bourses.
Most of the momentum behind the profit came from local firms in the computer and electronic components sector, which benefited from rising demand for consumer goods due to a work-from-home trend, as well as firms in the semiconductor sector, which profited from 5G development, the commission said.
The container and bulk shipping industry also contributed high profit gains last year due to rising freight rates, it said.
All Taipei Exchange (TPEX)-listed corporations, excluding KY stocks, reported a 2.45 percent annual rise in their combined revenue to NT$2.19 trillion and an annual growth of 20.21 percent in overall pretax profit to NT$222.5 billion, the commission said.
The gains came from the TPEX-listed firms in the semiconductor, electronic components, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
As many biotechnology firms’ share prices advanced last year because investors were upbeat about the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, their shareholders could see more investment gains, Tsai said.
KY stocks listed on the TWSE and the TPEX saw their overall revenue fall 1.32 percent annually to NT$872.3 billion last year, as some KY stocks were hit by a decline in consumption during the pandemic, the commission said.
However, their combined pretax profits rose 4.03 percent to NT$82.6 billion, the data showed.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS