TAIEX gains 1.13 percent
Taiwanese shares closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX increasing 93.42 points, or 1.13 percent, to close at 8,289.98.
The bourse opened at 8,245.86 and traded between 8,313.94 and 8,237.67 during the session.
A total of 4.83 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$146.08 billion (US$4.6 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 2,086 to 1,019, with 275 stocks remaining unchanged. Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$10.6 billion in shares.
TSMC plans to hire 3,000
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday said it planned to hire more than 3,000 new engineers this year to cope with capacity expansion and technology development.
The announcement came after handset chip designer MediaTek Inc said it planned to add 10 percent to its workforce this year.
The Hsinchu-based chipmaker plans to hold several recruitment meetings in Hsinchu and Tainan from today through March 20, a company statement said.
Cathay Financial books gain
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said its banking unit booked a gain of NT$6.7 million in a NT$440 million land sale in Taichung, a stock exchange filing showed yesterday.
This news came after Cathay Financial, the nation’s biggest financial services provider, said last Friday that its insurance unit would acquire land and a building in Taipei for NT$960 million.
The company posted a preliminary net profit of NT$11.05 billion last year, compared with a net profit of NT$2.2 billion in 2008.
Nomura increases Asia hiring
Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest investment bank, will add as many as 125 people to its fixed-income teams in Asia outside Japan this year as part of a plan to increase revenue from the region by at least 30 percent.
The Tokyo-based lender will focus on expansion in South Korea, Taiwan, China and India, while also hiring in Singapore and Hong Kong, said Jai Rajpal, Asia ex-Japan head of fixed income.
“The focal point is how do we get closer to our clients, especially in Asia, which is a highly fragmented market,” Rajpal said in an interview in Singapore. “The only way to do that is by being local.”
Key forum starts next week
Economists and entrepreneurs from across Asian have been invited to attend the CommonWealth Economic Forum in Taipei on Monday and Tuesday to exchange views on new engines of economic growth in Asia after the global financial crisis.
The two-day event will feature three keynote speakers: former Singaporean deputy prime minister Tony Tan (陳慶炎); Economist executive editor Daniel Franklin; and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀).
Topics to be discussed at the six sessions include a new development model for the economy; innovation and branding; the rise of Asian enterprises; opportunities and challenges in Greater China’s economic circle; economic cooperation across the Taiwan Strait; and the future of the financial sector.
Local currency gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.054 to close at NT$31.755.
A total of US$537 million changed hands during the day’s trading.
The local currency opened at NT$31.809 and fluctuated between NT$31.736 and NT$31.809.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors