TAIEX drops on profit taking
Shares closed down 0.43 percent yesterday on profit-taking following a spate of rebounds fueled by Wall Street rallies and a decline in oil prices, dealers said. Technology shares continued to rally.
The TAIEX closed down 31.82 points to 7,293.80, off a high of 7,337.67 and a low of 7,260.12, on turnover of NT$122.51 billion (US$3.93 billion).
“Investors may take profit in technology shares in near-term if the Taiwan dollar continues strengthening, given no other catalyst,” said Scott Hsu, a trader at KGI Securities (中信證券).
TSMC buyback plan okayed
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that its board had approved a NT$16.5 billion share buyback plan to safeguard shareholders’ interests.
The repurchase program is separate from the multi-phase plan with shareholder Philips, and Philips will not use this program to sell its remaining stake in TSMC, spokesperson Lora Ho (何麗梅) said in a statement.
“The sole purpose of this buyback is to remove partially the dilution from employee profit sharing,” Ho said.
The chipmaker planned to repurchase as many as 283 million common shares, or about 1.08 percent of its total outstanding shares, at a price in the range of NT$42.85 to NT$86.2 per share between today and Oct. 12 on the open market.
TSMC will cancel those shares repurchased, the statements said.
Foxconn’s HK shares rally
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康), the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of cellphones, rose the most in more than six months in Hong Kong trading after Merrill Lynch & Co (美林證券) raised its recommendation for the stock.
Foxconn climbed 16 percent to HK$8.97 (US$1.15) at the midday break, the biggest advance since Jan. 25. Yesterday’s increase followed a 9.5 percent jump on Monday.
The company, a unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), may report improved second-half profitability as it boosts production of new phone models, Merrill Lynch analyst Tony Tseng (曾省吾) wrote in a report yesterday.
He raised his recommendation of the stock to “neutral” from “underperform” and cut the share-price estimate on an expected drop in first-half earnings.
Operating profit margin may widen to 5.3 percent in the second half, compared with an estimated 5 percent in the first half, he said.
Foxconn, based in Shenzhen, is the fourth-worst performing member on the Hang Seng Index this year. The stock had dropped 56 percent this year through Monday.
TSA inks pact with Indonesians
The Taiwan Securities Association (TSA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Jakarta with the Indonesia Securities Companies Association to boost cooperative ties, the ninth such memorandum it has signed, a TSA official said yesterday.
The two sides hope to boost the visibility of Asian stock markets and increase their exchange of information on investment laws and investor education and protection, the official said.
The MOU also aims to improve the speed and efficiency of securities transactions and increase investor discipline, the official said.
The association signed MOUs with Japanese, Mongolian and South Korean securities associations last year, and with its Thai, Vietnamese, German, Polish and Australian counterparts this year.
NT dollar slips
The New Taiwan dollar weakened by NT$0.023 yesterday to close at NT$31.189 against the greenback on turnover of US$902 million.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
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