EQUITIES
Foreigners sell NT$86.22bn
Foreign investors last week sold a net NT$86.22 billion (US$3.09 billion) of local shares after selling a net NT$24.06 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares sold by foreign investors were United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) and AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), while the top three bought were EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), Innolux Corp (群創光電) and China General Plastics Corp (華夏海灣塑膠), the exchange said. As of Friday last week, the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$22.09 trillion, or 43.67 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Auto market boosts CFTC
China Fineblanking Technology Co (CFTC, 和勤精機), a manufacturer of metal stamping products, yesterday reported that revenue last month reached the highest since February due to a steady recovery in the Chinese auto market. Consolidated revenue grew 15.84 percent from August and rose 8.88 percent from a year earlier to NT$247 million last month, the company said in a statement. Auto parts accounted for 62.2 percent of the Changhua County-based company’s total revenue, while voice coil motor plates for hard-disk drive applications contributed 33.74 percent, it said. Cumulative revenue in the first nine months expanded 21.23 percent to NT$1.95 billion, which is also the highest for the same period.
ENERGY
CIP installs foundation
Danish firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S (CIP) yesterday said it installed the first foundation at its 589-megawatt Chang Fang (彰芳) and Xidao (西島) offshore wind farm complex off the coast of Changhua County. Boskalis HwaChi Offshore Wind Taiwan (伯威海事工程) helped put the jacket in place over the weekend using the Bokalift 1 vessel, CIP said. A total of 62 three-legged jackets would be installed at the project, each with a height of 80m and an average weight of 1,200 tonnes, it said. The jackets are manufactured by Century Iron and Steel Industrial Co (世紀鋼構), it added.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC cancels sports day
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Friday said that it would cancel its annual sports day amid COVID- 19 concerns, but would still pay nonmanagement employees a special NT$16,000 bonus. The company is to distribute NT$752 million in special bonuses to about 47,000 employees in Taiwan, it said. It was the second consecutive year it suspended the event, while this year’s bonus would top the NT$12,000 the chipmaker gave last year. TSMC would also give an additional NT$2,000 in cash to all of its employees, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Sector booming in August
Taiwan’s manufacturing sector remained in rapid growth mode in August as an index gauging the sector’s business climate flashed “yellow-red” for the fourth consecutive month, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said on Friday. The composite index for the local manufacturing sector moved lower by 0.51 points from a month earlier to 16.19, indicating uncertainty caused by lingering concerns over a local COVID-19 outbreak, a lack of raw materials and a shortage of shipping services worldwide, the institute said.
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Tuesday confirmed a cyberattack targeting some of its North American facilities, but said the affected factories were gradually returning to normal. The company, known globally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said that its cybersecurity team “activated the response mechanism and implemented operational measures to ensure the continuity of production and delivery.” “The affected factories are resuming normal production,” the company said in a statement. Hon Hai had previously described it as a “technical issue,” when news of the cyberattack first surfaced. The confirmation followed media reports of a large-scale information technology system incident that broke out at
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