EQUITIES
Foreigners sell more shares
Foreign investors last week sold a net NT$107.81 billion (US$3.63 million) in local shares after selling a net NT$41.45 billion a week earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. As of Friday, foreign investors had sold NT$890.04 billion in local shares since the beginning of the year, the exchange said. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), while the top three shares bought by foreign investors were Innolux Corp (群創光電), CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) and Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子), it said. As of Friday, the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$19.61 trillion, or 40.34 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Hotai signs ‘green’ deal
Hotai Finance Co (和潤企業), a vehicle loans and insurance service unit of Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), yesterday signed a sustainability-linked loan deal with 18 banks with the aim of promoting green energy investment and achieving net zero carbon emissions. The three-year, NT$15 billion syndicated loans were led by CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), Hotai Finance said, adding that it has inked NT$24 billion in sustainability-linked loans over the past two years.
JAPAN
School plans for TSMC kids
An international school in Japan plans to build additional space to accommodate an expected influx of Taiwanese students when Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) completes a new factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, a news report said. When TSMC begins mass production at its first plant in Japan in December 2024, about 600 Taiwanese employees and their families, including 150 schoolchildren, are expected move to Kumamoto, public broadcaster NHK reported on Friday. The international school would later this year begin to build a space of about 3,500m2, which it aims to complete by 2024, NHK said.
INSURANCE
Cathay launches eye policy
Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) on Wednesday launched the nation’s first eye-related insurance policies as the number of Taiwanese affected by eye disease is rising due to increasing use of mobiles and electronic devices. The new product covers policyholders against four major eye-related conditions: cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and retinal detachment, it said. The company said it would compensate policyholders once they need to have surgery. However, the new product would be only available to those aged between 40 and 70, it said.
STEELMAKERS
Ta Chen upbeat overall
Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co (大成不銹鋼) yesterday said it remains positive about its business outlook in the long term, although it faces short-term headwinds due to fluctuations in raw material prices. Ta Chen said aggressive interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve would affect consumer demand in the near term, but would not have a significant impact on the company as it mainly focuses on engineering, infrastructure and industrial markets. The US market accounts for nearly 80 percent of the firm’s total sales. Shareholders yesterday approved the firm’s NT$1.9 per share in dividend distribution, with a payout ratio of 32.99 percent based on last year’s earnings per share of NT$5.76.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
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