EQUITIES
TAIEX follows US markets
The TAIEX closed higher yesterday on the back of buying spurred by Friday’s gains on US markets, which rose following better-than-expected jobs data for last month. The bellwether electronics sector led yesterday’s upturn on the main board, while buying was also seen among non-tech stocks, in particular in the electric engineering industry, giving additional support to the broader market. However, with the TAIEX exceeding 15,700 points, some investors shifted to the sell side to lock in earlier gains, while large-cap semiconductor stocks continued to move above their previous closing levels, helping the main board sustain its upturn by the end of the session. The TAIEX closed up 73.50 points, or 0.47 percent, at 15,699.57. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$214.79 billion (US$6.99 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$5.89 billion of shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreigners net sellers
Foreign institutional investors last week sold a net NT$9.33 billion of local shares after selling a net NT$38.13 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運), Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) and Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子), while the top three bought were Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) and Ta Ya Electric Wire & Cable Co (大亞電線電纜), the exchange said. As of Friday, foreign investors had bought NT$161.71 billion of local shares since the beginning of this year, while the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$19.54 trillion, or 39.86 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
FINANCE
Jko founder to keep reins
Jko Group (街口集團) founder Kevin Hu (胡亦嘉) yesterday said he would not relinquish control of Jko Fintech Co (街口金融科技), after food and beverage maker Taisun Enterprise Co (泰山企業) last week offered to buy a 40.4 percent stake in the subsidiary for NT$3.6 billion. Hu said Taisun would secure two director seats on Jko Fintech’s five-member board if the deal obtains regulatory approval, while Jko Group would hold the remaining three seats. Hu said the company would use the funds to raise the working capital of its electronic payment business and for expansion. Taisun’s majority shareholder, Long Bon International Co (龍邦), which has been pushing for a board reshuffle since last year, questioned the company’s decision on Saturday to invest in Jko Fintech. Hu said his company has no intention to get involved in Taisun’s management disputes.
COMPONENTS
Yageo revenue little changed
Yageo Corp (國巨), the world’s third-largest supplier of multilayer ceramic capacitors, yesterday said revenue reached NT$9.01 billion last month, little changed from March, attributable to continuing inventory adjustments on the supply chain. On an annual basis, revenue contracted 11.2 percent from NT$10.15 billion. During the first four months of this year, revenue dropped 12.8 percent to NT$35.11 billion from NT$10.27 billion a year ealier, the company said in a statement.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Taiwan’s property market is entering a freeze, with mortgage activity across the nation’s six largest cities plummeting in the first quarter, H&B Realty Co (住商不動產) said yesterday, citing mounting pressure on housing demand amid tighter lending rules and regulatory curbs. Mortgage applications in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung totaled 28,078 from January to March, a sharp 36.3 percent decline from 44,082 in the same period last year, the nation’s largest real-estate brokerage by franchise said, citing data from the Joint Credit Information Center (JCIC, 聯徵中心). “The simultaneous decline across all six cities reflects just how drastically the market
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer