EQUITIES
Foreigners sell NT$17.04bn
Foreign investors last week sold a net NT$17.04 billion (US$569.63 million) of local shares after selling a net NT$1.9 billion a week earlier, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. As of Friday, foreign investors had sold NT$972.02 billion of local shares since the beginning of the year, the exchange said in a statement. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), China Steel Corp (中鋼) and E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), while the top three shares foreign investors bought were EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), it said. As of Friday, the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$18.48 trillion, or 40.77 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Phoenix profit falls 15%
Silicon wafer recycler Phoenix Silicon International Corp (昇陽半導體) yesterday reported that net profit last month fell 15 percent annually to NT$24 million. That represented earnings per share of NT$0.17. Revenue grew 19.6 percent year-on-year to NT$254 million last month, the company said in a regulatory filing. Net profit in the second quarter rose 126.3 percent to NT$93 million, with earnings per share of NT$0.66, the company said. Phoenix Silicon released the earnings and revenue data at the request of the Taiwan Stock Exchange due to an unusual spike in its stock price. Its shares have surged about 26 percent since the beginning of the year.
STEELMAKERS
CSC posts NT$4.3bn profit
China Steel Corp (CSC, 中鋼), the nation’s biggest steelmaker, yesterday reported NT$4.297 billion in pre-tax profit for last month, down 3.2 percent from a month earlier and 48.3 percent from a year earlier, as raw material prices continued to rise despite increased shipments. Pre-tax earnings per share were NT$0.27 in the month, it said. In the second quarter, it made NT$14.4 billion in pre-tax profit, sliding 0.7 percent from the previous quarter and 34.9 percent from a year earlier, with pre-tax earnings per share of NT$0.91, it said. In the first six months, pre-tax profit decreased 18 percent year-on-year to NT$28.902 billion, or NT$1.83 per share, it added.
REGULATORS
FSC signs Israel MOU
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Israel Securities Authority on bilateral cooperation. The MOU is to provide a framework for cooperation and referrals in financial technology, innovation and investment, the commission said on Wednesday. A referral mechanism under the MOU is expected to help referred innovator businesses gain a better understanding of the regulatory regimes in the different jurisdictions, the commission said.
CEMENT
TCC showcases new cement
Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥) last week unveiled its first commercially available ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) battery storage container, with the opening of a DC charging station at a 7-Eleven store in Tainan’s Anping District (安平). The store is to offer DC/DC power from Molicel-branded batteries housed within the container, TCC said. UHPC provides a high-quality alternative to traditional concrete or metal, while its compressive strength and fire resistance properties make it an excellent choice for battery storage, TCC said.
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
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group