EUQITIES
Fund outflow spikes
Taiwan saw a net foreign fund outflow of US$5.94 billion last month, which was not only the first net outflow this year, but also the second-largest outflow in a single month after US$10.3 billion in March 2020, data released yesterday by the Financial Supervisory Commission showed. In the first three months of this year, Taiwan had a net foreign fund outflow of US$680 million, the commission data showed. Foreign institutional investors last month sold a net NT$263 billion (US$9.12 billion) of local shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
ELECTRONICS
Yageo profit rises 14.9%
Passive components maker Yageo Corp (國巨) yesterday said that revenue rose 14.9 percent month-on-month to a record NT$10.63 billion thanks to stabilizing demand for its products used in niche devices. In the first quarter, revenue expanded 17.3 percent quarterly and 26.9 percent annually to NT$30.13 billion, Yageo said. The company said that it would carefully allocate capacity this quarter in response to customer demand.
? AUTO PARTS
BizLink revenue up 100%
Wire harness maker BizLink Holding Inc (貿聯) yesterday posted consolidated sales of NT$4.37 billion for last month, up 7.28 percent month-on-month and 100.35 percent year-on-year. The company attributed the increase to a rise in shipments across the company’s four major segments: industrial, information technology, automotive and electrical appliances. BizLink said that cumulative sales in the first quarter were NT$11.65 billion, up 89.85 percent from the same period last year.
MEMORY CHIPS
Macronix posts strong gains
Macronix International Co (旺宏), the world’s biggest supplier of NOR flash memory chips, yesterday reported NT$4.26 billion in revenue for last month, surging about 18 percent from NT$3.61 billion a year earlier. That was the chipmaker’s best March figure. On a monthly basis, revenue jumped 17.5 percent from NT$3.62 billion. First-quarter revenue totaled NT$11.6 billion, up 20.5 percent annually from NT$9.63 billion. On a quarterly basis, revenue sank about 20 percent, the chipmaker said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
GlobalWafers optimistic
GlobalWafers Inc (環球晶圓), the world’s No. 3 silicon wafer supplier, on Wednesday said that robust demand last quarter boosted revenue 3.5 percent quarter-on-quarter and 10.1 percent year-on-year to NT$16.31 billion, a record. GlobalWafers said that growing demand for advanced chips would further lift average selling prices and drive overall revenue higher. Revenue at parent company, Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美矽晶), last quarter climbed 3.8 percent quarter-on-quarter and 17 percent year-on-year to NT$18.77 billion, also a record.
ELECTRONICS
Qisda posts record sales
Electronics manufacturer Qisda Corp (佳世達) yesterday posted record sales of NT$22.5 billion for last month, up 25.6 percent month-on-month and 19.7 percent year-on-year, thanks to robust sales of networking devices, medical equipment and business solutions, as well as increased contributions from subsidiaries. First-quarter revenue grew 19.6 percent year-on-year to NT$60.9 billion, Qisda said. The company said that it remains positive about the long-term prospects for digitalization, automation and cloud computing.
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
CRESTING WAVE: Companies are still buying in, but the shivers in the market could be the first signs that the AI wave has peaked and the collapse is upon the world Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported a new monthly record of NT$367.47 billion (US$11.85 billion) in consolidated sales for last month thanks to global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Last month’s figure represented 16.9 percent annual growth, the slowest pace since February last year. On a monthly basis, sales rose 11 percent. Cumulative sales in the first 10 months of the year grew 33.8 percent year-on-year to NT$3.13 trillion, a record for the same period in the company’s history. However, the slowing growth in monthly sales last month highlights uncertainty over the sustainability of the AI boom even as
BUST FEARS: While a KMT legislator asked if an AI bubble could affect Taiwan, the DGBAS minister said the sector appears on track to continue growing The local property market has cooled down moderately following a series of credit control measures designed to contain speculation, the central bank said yesterday, while remaining tight-lipped about potential rule relaxations. Lawmakers in a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee voiced concerns to central bank officials that the credit control measures have adversely affected the government’s tax income and small and medium-sized property developers, with limited positive effects. Housing prices have been climbing since 2016, even when the central bank imposed its first set of control measures in 2020, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) said. “Since the second half of
AI BOOST: Next year, the cloud and networking product business is expected to remain a key revenue pillar for the company, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu said Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted its best third-quarter profit in the company’s history, backed by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Net profit expanded 17 percent annually to NT$57.67 billion (US$1.86 billion) from NT$44.36 billion, the company said. On a quarterly basis, net profit soared 30 percent from NT$44.36 billion, it said. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said earnings per share expanded to NT$4.15 from NT$3.55 a year earlier and NT$3.19 in the second quarter. Gross margin improved to 6.35 percent,
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