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.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday said that Intel Corp would find itself in the same predicament as it did four years ago if its board does not come up with a core business strategy. Chang made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about the ailing US chipmaker, once an archrival of TSMC, during a news conference in Taipei for the launch of the second volume of his autobiography. Intel unexpectedly announced the immediate retirement of former chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger last week, ending his nearly four-year tenure and ending his attempts to revive the
WORLD DOMINATION: TSMC’s lead over second-placed Samsung has grown as the latter faces increased Chinese competition and the end of clients’ product life cycles Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained the No. 1 title in the global pure-play wafer foundry business in the third quarter of this year, seeing its market share growing to 64.9 percent to leave South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the No. 2 supplier, further behind, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report. TSMC posted US$23.53 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 13.0 percent from a quarter earlier, which boosted its market share to 64.9 percent, up from 62.3 percent in the second quarter, the report issued on Monday last week showed. TSMC benefited from the debut of flagship
A former ASML Holding NV employee is facing a lawsuit in the Netherlands over suspected theft of trade secrets, Dutch public broadcaster NOS said, in the latest breach of the maker of advanced chip-manufacturing equipment. The 43-year-old Russian engineer, who is suspected of stealing documents such as microchip manuals from ASML, is expected to appear at a court in Rotterdam today, NOS reported on Friday. He is accused of multiple violations of the sanctions legislation and has been given a 20-year entry ban by the Dutch government, the report said. The Dutch company makes machines needed to produce high-end chips that power
Taiwan would remain in the same international network for carrying out cross-border payments and would not be marginalized on the world stage, despite jostling among international powers, central bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) said yesterday. Yang made the remarks during a speech at an annual event organized by Financial Information Service Co (財金資訊), which oversees Taiwan’s banking, payment and settlement systems. “The US dollar will remain the world’s major cross-border payment tool, given its high liquidity, legality and safe-haven status,” Yang said. Russia is pushing for a new cross-border payment system and highlighted the issue during a BRICS summit in October. The existing system
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