EQUITIES
Asian markets decline
Asian stock markets mostly fell yesterday on the prospect of US interest rates going higher, and for longer, as US Federal Reserve policymakers try to cool the economy and bring decades-high inflation under control. All three main indices on Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday, led by tech firms, after key members of the Fed had lined up this week to acknowledge that while there had been progress in the inflation battle, there would be more pain to come before things got easier. In Taipei, the TAIEX closed down 19.46 points, or 0.12 percent, at 15,598.71, with turnover of NT$210.480 billion (US$7 billion), while markets in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Mumbai, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Wellington were all in the red. However, Hong Kong and Shanghai rose more than 1 percent apiece on China’s reopening and bargain-buying after a string of losses at the start of this month.
FABRICS
CCI approves dividend
Cathay Consolidated Inc (CCI, 八貫企業), which manufactures technical fabrics and finished goods for medical, marine, outdoor and aviation industries, yesterday said its board of directors has approved the distribution of a cash dividend of NT$5.4 per share based on earnings per share of NT$7.34 for last year, which translated into a payout ratio of 73.6 percent. With the company’s shares closing up 9.65 percent at NT$142 yesterday, its dividend yield reached 3.8 percent. The Yilan County-based company supplies products to global brands on a contract basis thanks to its expertise in coating, lamination, trimming and radio frequency welding. Its net profit grew 87.6 percent year-on-year to NT$500 million last year, a record in the company’s history, while revenue increased 25.2 percent to NT$2.59 billion, also the highest ever.
PHARMACEUTICALS
Bora revenue surges
Bora Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (保瑞藥業) yesterday reported significant revenue growth last month as the company’s acquisition of generic-drug producer TWi Pharmaceuticals Inc (安成藥) and efforts in global marketing paid off. Consolidated revenue rose 26.05 percent monthly and increased 400 percent annually to NT$1.896 billion last month, Bora said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company said its contract manufacturing and development unit posted revenue growth of nearly 13 percent from a year earlier last month on new clients’ orders, while the global marketing unit’s revenue also increased on the back of cancer drug sales by TWi Pharmaceuticals.
TECHNOLOGY
Karnataka, Hon Hai in talks
India’s Karnataka state is in talks with Hon Hai Technology Group (鴻海科技集團), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, over investment plans, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday, potentially setting it up as the third Indian state to host the Taiwanese company. “We are in serious discussion of investment plans with Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) at their Taiwan HQ & look forward to a fruitful collaboration,” Bommai wrote on Twitter. “We remain committed to welcome the best companies to the state & reap rewards for our people.” The state’s investment promotion arm also wrote that representatives held a meeting at the company’s Taiwan headquarters to discuss the investment, without providing further details.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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