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.
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it would work with US chipmaker Intel Corp to jointly develop and deploy next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said in a statement that the partnership would combine its global manufacturing scale, system integration expertise and AI data center deployment capabilities with Intel’s strengths in processor architecture, silicon technologies and software ecosystem. The companies said they plan to work on equipment used in AI data centers, including server racks powered by
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