EQUITIES
Tech stocks push up TAIEX
Taiwanese shares gained yesterday as the bellwether electronics sector continued its rise in the wake of a rally among tech stocks on US markets. However, some old economy stocks, in particular in the steel sector, remained in the doldrums, dampening the upturn on the broader market, dealers said. In addition, turnover kept falling amid rising concerns over escalating infections with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 in many countries and investors fearing interruptions to the recovery of the global economy, they said. Moreover, many local companies are soon to report their sales for last month, prompting investors to wait for real numbers, they added. The TAIEX closed up 70.13 points, or 0.4 percent, at 17,623.89. Turnover totaled NT$374.025 billion (US$13.44 billion), compared with Tuesday’s NT$390.3 billion, with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$10.62 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
DISPLAYS
Innolux shares surge
Shares of LCD panel maker Innolux Corp (群創) surged yesterday after the company reported improved profitability in the second quarter. Innolux closed up 10 percent, the largest gain on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. The company on Tuesday reported net profit of NT$21.4 billion in the second quarter, its highest quarterly profit and a sequential increase of 85.1 percent. That translated to earnings per share of NT$2.05. Innolux’s consolidated sales rose 11.21 percent from the first quarter to NT$93.2 billion, while operating income rose 59.8 percent to NT$23.8 billion. Innolux said that the sales and profit numbers largely reflected increasing global demand due to many economies reopening after lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Nuvoton predicts imbalance
Semiconductor firms would continue to struggle to meet customer demand, especially from the automotive sector, in the second half of this year, Nuvoton Technology Corp (新唐科技) said yesterday. The statement came after the Hsinchu-based supplier of microcontrollers reported record revenue of NT$10.61 billion in the second quarter, up 5.38 percent from the first quarter on the back of rising product prices. Net income for the second quarter also surged 247 percent sequentially to a record of NT$939 million, thanks to improved gross margin and investment gains. Earnings per share were NT$2.37 in the second quarter and NT$3.07 in the first half of this year.
ENERGY
EU firm opens local factory
A new wind turbine assembly facility operated by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA has started production in Taichung, making it the firm’s first plant outside Europe. Siemens Gamesa in a statement on Tuesday said that the new facility would primarily provide equipment for the 900-megawatt Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms, which are under development by the Danish firm Orsted A/S. Siemens Gamesa’s 30,000m2 assembly plant “reinforces our local footprint in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region,” the German-Spanish joint venture said. The plant would assemble the SG 8.0-167 DD turbines for the Changhua sites, it said. The Greater Changhua 1 and 2a wind farms are 35km to 50km off the coast of Changhua County.
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