EQUITIES
TAIEX makes a comeback
The TAIEX made a moderate comeback to close above 18,000 points yesterday, after tumbling a day earlier amid concerns over geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Transportation led the rebound with buying across the sector, while the bellwether electronics sector came out of the doldrums, led by select large-cap semiconductor stocks. The TAIEX closed up 86.44 points, or 0.48 percent, at 18,055.73, after moving between 17,954.75 and 18,109.28. Turnover totaled NT$268.988 billion (US$9.65 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$12.18 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The TAIEX might face stiff technical resistance ahead of 18,150 if a rebound continues, analysts said.
ECONOMY
TIER downplays sanctions
Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) president Chang Chien-yi (張建一) said that the effect of Western sanctions on Russia over its moves to recognize the independence of regions in Ukraine and send in troops would not have a large effect on global finances. However, a full-scale invasion by Russia could drive up the price of bulk agricultural goods, such as wheat and corn, of which Russia and Ukraine are two of the world’s major suppliers, Chang said. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said that the crisis in Ukraine could have a knock-on effect on retail prices and inflation in Taiwan. Annual headline consumer price index (CPI) growth was 2.84 percent last month, a nearly nine-year high, while core CPI growth quickened to a 13-year high of 2.42 percent, the DGBAS reported on Feb. 11.
TELECOMS
Chunghwa approves dividend
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), which is 35 percent owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, yesterday said that its board of directors approved the distribution of a NT$4.608 per common share cash dividend, the highest in about four years. That represented a payout ratio of about 100 percent of the telecom’s earnings per share of NT$4.61 last year. The company is to pay NT$35.75 billion in cash dividends. The distribution proposal is subject to approval of shareholders at the company’s annual meeting on May 27, it said. Chunghwa also provided its financial guidance for this year, expecting sales of NT$212.8 billion to NT$214 billion, and net profit of NT$34.11 billion to NT$36.04 billion, or earnings per share of NT$4.4 to NT$4.65.
INSTRUMENTS
Chroma dividend announced
Chroma ATE Inc (致茂電子), which provides electronic test and measurement solutions for commercial, automotive, military and government industries, yesterday said that its board of directors agreed to distribute a cash dividend of NT$7 per share after the company reported net profit increased 80 percent year-on-year to NT$4.179 billion last year, or earnings per share of NT$9.96. The proposed cash dividend suggests a payout ratio of 70.28 percent and a dividend yield of 3.58 percent based on the closing price of the company’s shares at NT$195.5 in Taipei trading yesterday. Chroma ATE said rising demand for its services boosted last year’s profit, with sales increasing 13 percent from a year earlier to NT$17.58 billion, a company record. However, raw material shortages remain an issue for the industry, with the problem expected to continue for the first half of this year, before gradually easing in the second half, it said.
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has appointed Rose Castanares, executive vice president of TSMC Arizona, as president of the subsidiary, which is responsible for carrying out massive investments by the Taiwanese tech giant in the US state, the company said in a statement yesterday. Castanares will succeed Brian Harrison as president of the Arizona subsidiary on Oct. 1 after the incumbent president steps down from the position with a transfer to the Arizona CEO office to serve as an advisor to TSMC Arizona’s chairman, the statement said. According to TSMC, Harrison is scheduled to retire on Dec. 31. Castanares joined TSMC in
EUROPE ON HOLD: Among a flurry of announcements, Intel said it would postpone new factories in Germany and Poland, but remains committed to its US expansion Intel Corp chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger has landed Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a customer for the company’s manufacturing business, potentially bringing work to new plants under construction in the US and boosting his efforts to turn around the embattled chipmaker. Intel and AWS are to coinvest in a custom semiconductor for artificial intelligence computing — what is known as a fabric chip — in a “multiyear, multibillion-dollar framework,” Intel said in a statement on Monday. The work would rely on Intel’s 18A process, an advanced chipmaking technology. Intel shares rose more than 8 percent in late trading after the
FACTORY SHIFT: While Taiwan produces most of the world’s AI servers, firms are under pressure to move manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) started building artificial intelligence (AI) servers in India’s south, the latest boon for the rapidly growing country’s push to become a high-tech powerhouse. The company yesterday said it has started making the large, powerful computers in Pondicherry, southeastern India, moving beyond products such as laptops and smartphones. The Chinese company would also build out its facilities in the Bangalore region, including a research lab with a focus on AI. Lenovo’s plans mark another win for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who tries to attract more technology investment into the country. While India’s tense relationship with China has suffered setbacks
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