The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) this year might more than double to 60, from 28 last year, as the local capital market is gaining traction, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, consulting firm Deloitte Taiwan said yesterday.
Deloitte Taiwan gave the optimistic projection after 75 firms joined the Emerging Stock Board, a preliminary market before IPO, audit and assurance business leader Titan Lee (李東峰) said, adding that virus outbreaks might delay the timetable, but would not deter participation.
High-tech, electronics and biotechnology firms are expected to dominate IPO activity, as Taiwan is home to the world’s major electronics suppliers and the government is supporting biotechnology firms, Lee said.
Photo courtesy of Deloitte Taiwan
“The biotechnology sector has evolved into a new cluster of its own and gathered steam amid the virus outbreaks,” he said.
Biotechnology firms would remain popular even though the industry is going through a structural change, he said.
Besides earnings ability, investors are increasingly including non-financial factors, such as environmental protection, social responsibility and sustainable governance, in their analyses to identify risks and growth opportunities, Deloitte Taiwan said, urging companies to respond and adjust.
Cybersecurity also demands attention, as Taiwanese authorities require companies with capitalization of more than NT$10 billion (US$362 million) to set up an information security division staffed by professionals in the field by the end of this year, it said.
The number of IPOs last year held steady from a year earlier, but they raised NT$32.1 billion, the highest in six years, led by contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電), which raked in NT$7.69 billion, or 24 percent of the total, while Advanced Energy Solution Holding Co was second with NT$4.78 billion, Deloitte Taiwan said.
Deloitte Taiwan last year accounted for 50 percent of the local IPO market by helping 14 companies list their shares, it added.
STEADY: Prices are to rebound following inventory rebuilding demand, TrendForce said, with Samsung Electronics Co further trimming capacity as it slashes DDR4 lines The contract prices of DRAM chips are to rise by as much as 18 percent sequentially this quarter — the first price upticks in about eight quarters — driven mainly by inventory rebuilding demand for DRAM chips used in mobile devices and PCs, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) projected yesterday. The price rebound is led by a quarterly increase of mobile DRAM chips, which are to climb between 13 percent and 18 percent quarter-on-quarter this quarter, which has not been seen since the fourth quarter of 2021, the Taipei-based market researcher predicted. Likewise, the price of mainstream PC DDR4 DRAM is expected to bounce
CHINA NOT A FRIEND: ‘Newsflash: Democracy is good for your businesses,’ US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said as she gave a speech at a national defense forum US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Saturday urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and US allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security. Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing “the biggest threat we’ve ever had” and stressed that “China is not our friend.” The world’s top two economies are locked in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry, in which her department plays a leading role. In October, Raimondo unveiled a series of restrictions on the export of advanced chips to China, including those used in the development of artificial intelligence
SOLID FOUNDATION: Given its decades of expertise in megatronics, manufacturing and robotics, Japan has the wherewithal to create its own AI, Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp plans to help build an artificial intelligence (AI) tech-related ecosystem in Japan to meet demand in a country eager to gain an edge in this emerging technology. The US company will seek to partner with Japanese research organizations, companies and start-ups to build factories for AI, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday during opening remarks in a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The company is to set up an AI research laboratory, and invest in local start-ups and educate the public on using AI, Huang said. Huang earlier this week met with Japanese Prime
A Hong Kong court postponed a court hearing on troubled Chinese property developer Evergrande Group’s (恆大集團) winding-up petition scheduled for yesterday until Jan. 29. Evergrande is trying to win support from its creditors for a plan to restructure more than US$300 billion in debt to stave off liquidation. The company’s lawyer told the court it was requesting an adjournment to “refine” its new debt restructuring plan. The Hong Kong High Court has postponed the hearing over Evergrande’s potential liquidation several times. Judge Linda Chan (陳靜芬) had said in October that yesterday’s hearing would be the last before a decision is handed down. Chan