EQUITIES
TAIEX falls 128.83 points
The TAIEX yesterday closed down 128.83 points, with the bellwether electronics sector taking the brunt of the decline, following overnight losses for US tech stocks. The benchmark index closed down 0.81 percent at 15,701.48, with turnover of NT$210.838 billion (US$6.94 billion) on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$2.07 billion of shares. The electronics sector lost 1.21 percent, with the semiconductor subindex closing down 1.35 percent, while the financial sector rose 0.17 percent. The tourism sector was one of the few to fend off selling on the main board, gaining 0.26 percent, as investors expect domestic consumption to get a boost from the government’s NT$6,000 cash rebates.
BROKERAGES
Firms’ profits soar 30.81%
Securities firms reported combined net profit of NT$5.75 billion for last month, up 30.81 percent from the previous month, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said in a statement on Monday. As total TWSE trading value grew 63.04 percent month-on-month to NT$4.08 trillion last month, securities firms reported an increase in brokerage fee income from the previous month, the exchange said, adding that net profit from dealers trading increased 66.11 percent and net underwriting income soared 119.88 percent from the previous month. In the first two months of this year, accumulated net profit among securities firms totaled NT$10.15 billion, up 71.76 percent from the same period last year, it said.
MANUFACTURING
Airtac issues positive outlook
Pneumatic components supplier Airtac International Group (亞德客) yesterday said that shipments this month are expected to be higher than last month, and the company’s capacity utilization rate could remain at 110 percent from this month to July, thanks to a recovery in industrial control demand following China’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions late last year. The company has sales exposure of about 97 percent to pneumatic components and 3 percent to linear guides. The outlook for linear guides would also improve this year, with sales expected to be higher than the previous two years, while capacity utilization for linear guides is expected to rise 60 to 70 percent, chief financial officer Ivan Tsao (曹永祥) told an investors’ conference at the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Consolidated revenue in the first two months of the year rose 4.29 percent year-on-year to NT$3.83 billion.
CHIPMAKERS
DRAM prices plummet
The average selling price of DRAM products plunged 20 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, but the decline is predicted to slow to 10 to 15 percent next quarter, market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It remains uncertain whether demand would recover in the second half of this year, the Taipei-based researcher said in a statement. Even though major producers such as Micron Technology Inc and SK Hynix Inc have started scaling back DRAM production, the average selling price of DRAM products has continued to fall as inventory levels remain high among suppliers, TrendForce said. Prices would only rebound if there is a significant decrease in production, it added. DRAM chips are used in PCs, servers, mobile devices and consumer electronics.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
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