The New Taiwan dollar fell to its weakest level in more than eight years, as a selloff in semiconductor shares intensified outflows from local equities.
The currency dropped as much as 0.6 percent to 32.79 per dollar yesterday, the weakest since 2016. Global funds sold a net US$1.79 billion of Taiwanese equities on Thursday, exchange data showed, the most since April and the fifth straight day of outflows.
The NT dollar was impacted by broad strength in the greenback and outward remittances by foreign investors despite dollar sales by exporters, said traders, who asked not to be identified, because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, have declined over the past few sessions after US President Joe Biden’s administration floated tougher trade restrictions on China. TSMC’s stock price plunged 3.48 percent to close at NT$970, the lowest since July 3.
Former US president Donald Trump’s comments on Taiwan taking away the US’ chip business and his questioning of whether the US should defend Taiwan have added to investor concern.
“Rising tech stock volatility has triggered strong foreign equity outflows,” BNP Paribas SA greater China foreign exchange and rates strategy head Ju Wang (王菊) said.
“It is a typical risk off reaction. If the weak trend continues, we will see if authorities come out to smooth the trend,” he added.
NT dollar trading volumes jumped to the highest since 2022 yesterday. The currency is the biggest laggard among Asian currencies this month, down about 1 percent, and has slumped more than 6 percent this year.
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
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
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
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in server chips, expects revenue to decline this year due to sagging demand for 5-nanometer artificial intelligence (AI) chips from a North America-based major customer, a company executive said yesterday. That would be the first contraction in revenue for Alchip as it has been enjoying strong revenue growth over the past few years, benefiting from cloud-service providers’ moves to reduce dependence on Nvidia Corp’s expensive AI chips by building their own AI accelerator by outsourcing chip design. The 5-nanometer chip was supposed to be a new growth engine as the lifecycle
RSS