EQUITIES
TAIEX hits record high
The TAIEX yesterday rose more than 100 points as buying rotated to non-technology shares, in particular raw materials and shipping firms, with investors betting on a strong global economic recovery. Interest in old economy and financial shares offset the downturn suffered by large-cap electronics stocks such as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and other semiconductor heavyweights, helping the benchmark index close at a record high, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 104.47 points, or 0.61 percent, at 17,263.28 on turnover of NT$440.374 billion (US$15.61 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$704 million of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreigners in sell-off
Foreign investors last week sold a net NT$670 million of local shares after buying a net NT$17.39 billion a week earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares sold by foreign investors were Innolux Corp (群創), AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), while the top three bought were Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), China Steel Corp (中鋼) and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the exchange said. As of Friday last week, the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$23.31 trillion, or 44.49 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
EQUITIES
Margin trading approved
Pan German Universal Motors Ltd (汎德永業汽車), which distributes BMW, Porsche and Mini vehicles in Taiwan, has gained permission from the Taiwan Stock Exchange to start margin trading of its shares from today, the exchange said in a statement yesterday. Pan German listed its shares on the main board on Oct. 12 last year and it has met the exchange’s margin-trading regulations, the statement said. Pan German shares yesterday closed up 0.61 percent at NT$246.5. The firm last week reported revenue of NT$10.3 billion for the first quarter, a 27.12 percent year-on-year increase.
FOOTWEAR
Fulgent Q1 income slips
Fulgent Sun Group (鈺齊國際), which manufactures outdoor shoes made of waterproof and breathable fabric such as Gore-Tex, yesterday posted first-quarter net income of NT$325.49 million, or earnings per share of NT$1.75, down 8.1 percent year-on-year. The company, which also makes sports footwear, said sales in the first quarter totaled NT$3.42 billion, up 23.2 percent from NT$2.77 billion in the same period last year. Fulgent said its gross profit, operating profit and net profit in the first quarter all were the second-highest level in its history, while first-quarter sales hit the highest ever for the period. Fulgent said that sales for the next three quarters would likely be higher than the first quarter.
WATER
Work begins on three wells
A CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) team began drilling wells in Taichung on Saturday last week, a member of the team said on Sunday, in the hope of providing much-needed water to central Taiwan amid a serious drought. Su Chin-li (蘇晉立) said the team’s heavy machinery began drilling three wells near the Liyutan Water Treatment Plant in a project that is scheduled to be completed by Wednesday next week. Each well is expected to be 350m deep and able to provide 5,000m3 of water per day, Su said.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI