EQUITIES
TAEIX closes higher
The TAIEX closed higher yesterday even as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) remained weak amid lingering concerns over inventory adjustments in the global IC industry. Investors tended to exit large-cap tech stocks such as TSMC while buying into old economy stocks, including machinery companies involved in renewable energy development and companies holding large amounts of carbon credits, keeping the main board in positive territory. The TAIEX closed up 57.30 points, or 0.37 percent, at 15,636.48, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Turnover totaled NT$224.355 billion (US$7.29 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$3.40 billion in shares on the main board, exchange data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreigners sell NT$38.13bn
Foreign institutional investors last week sold a net NT$38.13 billion of local shares after selling a net NT$30.30 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were AUO Corp (友達), China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) and Innolux Corp (群創), while the top three bought were Wistron Corp (緯創), Unimicron Technology Corp (欣興電子) and First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), the exchange said. As of Friday, foreign investors had bought NT$171.03 billion of local shares since the beginning of this year, while the market capitalization of the shares held by foreign investors was NT$19.51 trillion, or 39.93 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
SHIPBUILDING
Jong Shyn wins defense bid
Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co (中信造船) has won a Ministry of National Defense tender to build prototypes of two light frigates, the company said on Monday. It secured the contracts, valued at NT$9.05 billion, after two rounds of bidding and a review by the navy to build an anti-air light frigate and an anti-submarine light frigate, Jong Shyn said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing. Local media reported that the firm would start building the prototypes in the first half of this year, with delivery scheduled for October 2026. Jong Shyn, which is listed on the Emerging Stock Board, posted consolidated sales of NT$305 million in March, up 2.46 percent from a year earlier. In the first quarter of this year, its cumulative sales were NT$789 million, down 28.24 percent from a year earlier.
SEMICONDUCTORS
GlobalWafers’ net profit falls
GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said gross margin fell to 40.6 percent in the first quarter, down 2.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, due to rising electricity and depreciation costs. While first-quarter revenue rose 1.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to NT$18.62 billion on the back of robust demand in the automotive and industrial sectors, net profit fell 13.7 percent to NT$5 billion, or earnings per share of NT$11.49, the company said. Its 8-inch and 12-inch wafer plants operated at a higher utilization rate of at least 95 percent in the first quarter, and it could remain above 90 percent in the second quarter despite some expected headwinds, it said. The company said it is cautiously optimistic about the market outlook for the second half of the year. Its board of directors proposed distributing a cash dividend of NT$9.5 per share for the second half of last year, with a total payout of NT$4.13 billion.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
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