EQUITIES
Koo allays fears on selling
Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Wellington Koo (顧立雄) yesterday downplayed concerns about the selling of local shares by foreign investors, saying that from Jan. 1 to the middle of last month foreign institutional investors still registered a net fund inflow of about US$2 billion. Speaking at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee, Koo said the nation’s economic and stock fundamentals remain sound, while listed firms have released strong top-line figures.
COMPUTERS
Tul shares surge, end down
Shares of Tul Corp (撼訊) yesterday rose as much as 6.38 percent after the supplier of graphics cards on Wednesday reported that earnings per share surged from NT$2.33 in February to NT$3.82 last month, with unaudited first-quarter earnings per share hitting a record NT$10.3. Tul is a major beneficiary of rising demand for graphics cards for gaming computers and cryptocurrency mining, with first-quarter sales surging by 527 percent annually to NT$2.995 billion (US$102.08 million). However, by the end of the session the shares dropped by the daily maximum of 10 percent to close at NT$211.50.
MACHINERY
Chelic applies for issuance
Pneumatic components supplier Taiwan Chelic Corp Ltd (氣立) has applied with the Securities and Futures Bureau to issue up to NT$603 million in non-collateral convertible bonds to cope with investment needs. The issuance would be Chelic’s first domestic fundraising after debuting on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Oct. 27, 2015. Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券) is to serve as the bookrunner for the three-year bonds, which are to be listed on the Taipei Exchange.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
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