ENERGY
Gas not to rise over holiday
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) would not raise its gasoline and diesel prices if world crude oil prices increased during the Lunar New Year holiday, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. However, if global oil prices fall, people would likely see a downward adjustment in prices at CPC’s gas pumps, the ministry said in a statement. CPC would also keep prices of household and industrial liquefied natural gas unchanged until the end of next month, it said. Prices for 20kg cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas would remain unchanged until the end of March, it added. Separately, Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖) yesterday said that it would not adjust prices of sugar and cooking oil products before the Lantern Festival on Feb. 15 in compliance with government policy.
EQUITIES
Rate-hike fears hit TAIEX
The TAIEX yesterday came under heavy pressure with selling sparked by steep losses on US markets overnight after a spike in the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, indicating fears over higher interest rates, dealers said. The higher US Treasury yield led highly priced tech stocks to lose their luster, with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in focus, pushing the broader market below the 20-day moving average of 18,257 points at the end of the session, they said. The TAIEX closed down 151.18 points, or 0.82 percent, at 18,227.46. Turnover totaled NT$255.683 billion (US$9.25 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$1.95 billion of shares on the main board. Shares in TSMC fell 1.21 percent to close at NT$654, and the stock’s downturn contributed about 67 points to the TAIEX’s decline.
BROKERAGES
Firms’ income tumbles 27%
The nation’s securities firms reported combined net profit of NT$7.195 billion for last month, down 26.97 percent from the previous month, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday, citing falling brokerage fee income, dealer trading income and underwriting income amid a decline in trading value on the main board during the month. For the whole of last year, securities firms reported accumulated net income of NT$105.43 billion, up 80.35 percent from 2020, as income generated from brokerage fees, dealer trading income and underwriting charges grew substantially from a year earlier amid rising stock transactions on the main board, the exchange said.
ELECTRONICS
Wiwynn posts record profit
Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技), a cloud computing equipment supplier, on Tuesday reported record net profit of NT$8.65 billion for last year, up 0.4 percent from 2020, as consolidated revenue increased 3 percent to NT$192.63 billion, the highest in the company’s history. Earnings per share were NT$49.46, the company said in a statement. Gross margin and operating margin last year fell 0.1 percentage points apiece to 8.1 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, due to rising raw material prices and unfavorable exchange rates, Wiwynn said. The company, a subsidiary of contract electronics maker Wistron Corp (緯創), said that its computing business is likely to continue to grow steadily on the back of stable demand for devices used for remote working and online learning, as well as for artificial intelligence applications. However, supply-chain risks remain a concern, it added.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last