EQUITIES
Foreigners net buyers
Foreign institutional investors last week bought a net NT$46.83 billion (US$1.54 million) of local shares, after selling a net NT$32.46 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday. The top three shares bought by foreign investors last week were Wistron Corp (緯創), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電), while the top three sold by foreign investors were CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), the exchange said in a statement. As of Friday, foreign investors had bought NT$194.3 billion of local shares since the beginning of this year, while the market capitalization of the shares held by foreign investors was NT$20.37 trillion, or 40.85 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
EXHIBITIONS
Trade show attracts 20,000
The Taipei Cycle Show and the Taipei International Sporting Goods Show, which closed on Saturday, attracted 5,400 international buyers from 81 countries, the organizer said in a statement. Being the first trade fair to physically welcome visitors from around the world after Taiwan reopened its borders, the joint show attracted about 20,000 visitors, up 71 percent from a year earlier, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said. The top five buyer countries were Japan, South Korea, the US, Singapore and Germany, in that order, TAITRA said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Sumitomo to invest NT$1bn
Sumitomo Bakelite (Taiwan) Co (台灣住友培科) has pledged to invest NT$1 billion in Taiwan to expand the production capacity of its semiconductor packaging materials, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Friday. The company has gained approval from the InvesTaiwan Service Center to participate in a government incentive program, as it plans to build new manufacturing facilities and install more production lines in Kaohsiung’s Dafa Industrial Park (大發工業區), the ministry said in a statement.
CHIPMAKERS
TSMC rewards executives
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has announced the issuance of 2.11 million shares to CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and 24 other executives as part of its restricted stock awards (RSA) program this year. Wei received 400,000 restricted shares, which are worth about NT$215.6 million based on the company’s closing price of NT$539 on Friday, TSMC said in a statement. The company’s RSA program saw it issue 2.11 million restricted shares, which link employees’ compensation to shareholders’ interests and environmental, social and governance achievements.
HOSPITALITY
FIH unveils dividend plan
Formosa International Hotels Group (FIH, 晶華國際酒店) last week said that it plans to distribute a cash dividend of NT$9 per share, up from last year’s NT$7.09 per share. The proposal came after the hospitality service provider reported that net profit last year increased 30.37 percent annually to NT$1.02 billion, while revenue rose 13.51 percent to NT$5.6 billion. FIH said its food and beverage sales last year beat the pre-pandemic figures by double percentages and that business at its flagship property Regent Taipei (台北晶華酒店) recovered to 90 percent of the pre-pandemic level.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback’s slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sold a record HK$60.5 billion (US$7.8 billion) of the city’s currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page yesterday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city’s authorities to limit the local currency’s moves within its HK$7.75 to HK$7.85 per US dollar trading band. Heavy sales of the local dollar by
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenue jumped 48 percent last month, underscoring how electronics firms scrambled to acquire essential components before global tariffs took effect. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp reported monthly sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion). That compares with the average analysts’ estimate for a 38 percent rise in second-quarter revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war is prompting economists to retool GDP forecasts worldwide, casting doubt over the outlook for everything from iPhone demand to computing and datacenter construction. However, TSMC — a barometer for global tech spending given its central role in the
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
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