PHARMACEUTICALS
Adimmune plans expansion
Vaccine maker Adimmune Corp (國光生技) and its subsidiary Enimmune Corp (安特羅生技) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore-listed Innovalues Tech for a joint venture in Southeast Asia to explore local markets. Innovalues Tech is a subsidiary of private equity group Northstar (北極星), with capital of US$350 million. Innovalues Tech has positioned itself as a provider of biomedicine-related products and has invested in several medical centers in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. The joint venture is expected to be established before the end of the year, with the initial goal of introducing influenza, tetanus and enterovirus vaccines to Southeast Asian markets, Adimmune said in a statement. The new company would later expand its product line to COVID-19 vaccines, it said. An overseas joint venture would facilitate clinical trials, drug permit applications and marketing of its products locally, Adimmune said, adding that it would consider establishing more bases overseas if the venture proves successful.
FUNDS
New ETF to make debut
CTBC Taiwan ESG Leading Semiconductor exchange-traded fund (ETF) beneficiary certificates are to debut on the main board tomorrow, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. The new ETF is issued by CTBC Investments Co (中國信託投信) and its underlying index is the ICE Factset Taiwan ESG Leading Semiconductor Index, the exchange said in a news release. The ICE index is compiled and maintained by ICE Data Indices LLC to track the performance of high-quality or dividend-paying semiconductor companies listed in Taiwan, the exchange said. The index is comprised of 30 stocks, it said. Including the new ETF, there are 120 listed ETFs, tracking domestic and international exchanges’ equity, bond, commodity and other investment tools to meet investors’ diverse appetites and asset allocation purposes, the exchange said.
EQUITIES
TWSE to hold conferences
The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) plans to hold online investors’ conferences for three foreign listed companies to give investors more information about their business performance in the first quarter of this year. HY Electronic (Cayman) Ltd (虹揚科技) and Yonggu Group Inc (永固集團) are to present their financial results and business development strategies on Tuesday next week, while Kingcan Holdings Ltd (福貞控股) is to hold a virtual conference on June 7, the exchange said in a statement. Apart from giving investors a better understanding of these companies’ operations, it is also hoped that the relationship between investors and the three firms would be enhanced, the exchange said.
CHIPMAKERS
SigmaStar planning IPO
Chipmaker SigmaStar (星宸科技) is seeking to raise at least 5 billion yuan (US$782.4 million) in an initial public offering in Shanghai, people familiar with the matter said. The start-up is working with advisers toward a share sale on the NASDAQ-style STAR board as soon as this year, the people said. The company is targeting a valuation of 30 billion yuan to 50 billion yuan, one of the people said. Founded in 2017, SigmaStar designs chips for security systems, sports cameras, self-driving vehicles and smart home devices, among other products, according to the company’s Web site. Its backers include China’s Kunqiao Capital (昆橋資本) and SummitView Capital (武岳峰資本), CB Insights has said.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
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