EQUITIES
Foreigners buy NT$29.96bn
Foreign investors last week bought a net NT$29.96 billion (US$1.08 billion) of local shares after buying a net NT$48.5 billion a week earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. The top three shares foreign investors bought last week were Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), while the top three sold were United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Innolux Corp (群創) and Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), the exchange said. As of Friday, the market cap of shares held by foreign investors was NT$24.61 trillion, or 43.79 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Value Valves sales hit high
Value Valves Co (捷流閥業) yesterday reported record revenue of NT$2.4 billion for last year, up 0.59 percent from the previous year, after posting better-than-expected sales for last month — up 8.11 percent year-on-year to NT$207.29 million. The company, which manufactures a range of valves with facilities in Taiwan and China, attributed the strong results to rising demand for valves in the petrochemical, shipping and electronics industries. The company said rising orders for cryogenic valves, which are used in liquefied natural gas carriers, also contributed to revenue growth.
MANUFACTURING
Iron Force sales fall 1.87%
Iron Force Industrial Co (劍麟), which makes clothes hangers, seat belts, airbag inflators and safety parts, yesterday reported revenue of NT$293.56 million for last month, down 1.87 percent from a month earlier and 20.05 percent from a year earlier. The company said that clothes hanger sales fell due to fewer working days last month, but auto parts sales increased due to seasonal factors. Total revenue for last year was NT$3.64 billion, up 5.64 percent from 2020, with auto parts accounting for 80 percent of sales and clothes hangers making up the remainder, it said.
MACHINERY
Bright Sheland sales rise
Bright Sheland International Co (旭然國際), which makes filtration products and separation systems under the Filtrafine brand, yesterday reported revenue of NT$58.37 million for last month, up 37.34 percent from a year earlier and posting a monthly record for a second consecutive month. The company said demand for filtering facilities continued to rise as clients in the semiconductor and electronics sectors increased capital expenditure and built new plants. The relocation of plants by clients seeking to diversify risks also helped boost sales, it said. Revenue in the fourth quarter rose 42.91 percent to NT$163.57 million from a year earlier, while revenue for the full year was NT$590.4 million, up 15.96 percent from 2020.
BANKING
TCB Prague office approved
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has approved Taiwan Cooperative Bank’s (TCB, 合作金庫銀行) application to set up a representative office in Prague, making it the second Taiwanese bank to have a presence in the Czech capital. The representative office would help the bank seek business opportunities and enhance its service in the European market, the commission said in a statement on Friday. The commission approved a similar request by the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (中國輸出入銀行) on Nov. 11. Taiwan Cooperative Bank has representative offices in Beijing and Yangon, Myanmar, as well as 13 overseas branches.
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
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