STOCK MARKET
TAIEX takes a tumble
The market plunged more than 100 points to close below 10,900 points yesterday in the wake of an overnight decline on Wall Street, amid renewed concern over the eurozone caused by a political standoff in Italy. The market was also under pressure over fears of a looming trade war between the US and China. The TAIEX closed down 142.95 points, or 1.30 percent, at 10,821.17, with turnover of NT$160.73 billion (US$5.35 billion). According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$15.29 billion worth of shares on the main board.
MANUFACTURING
Walsin forecast improves
Capital Investment Management Corp (群益投顧) yesterday revised upward its earnings forecast for Walsin Technology Corp (華新科技) to NT$30.05 from NT$26.37 per share this year, after the nation’s second-largest passive component supplier posted better-than-expected financial results for last month. Due to price hikes, Walsin reported earnings of NT$2.15 per share, up 551.25 percent year-on-year, while sales grew 87.44 percent to NT$3.13 billion. Walsin shares yesterday closed 1.64 percent higher at NT$372.5.
E-COMMERCE
PChomestore to go private
The Taipei Exchange yesterday said PChomestore Inc (商店街) would stop trading its shares on the over-the-counter board on June 22, after the company’s board decided earlier this month to take the e-commerce operator private. PChomestore, a subsidiary of PChome Online Inc (網路家庭), announced a NT$363 million privatization plan in a bid to pursue greater returns on investment. PChome and its partners plan to buy back PChomestore shares on the open market at NT$44 per share from June 22 to Aug. 10. PChomestore shares yesterday closed 0.12 percent higher at NT$43.05.
FOOD PROCESSING
Namchow ahead of schedule
Namchow Holding Co (南僑投資控股) is expected to see its total annual revenue reach NT$20 billion next year, one year ahead of schedule, chairman Alfred Chen (陳飛龍) told shareholders yesterday, adding that he is optimistic about the group’s business performance this year. The group plans to submit an application to the Chinese securities regulator next month or in July to launch an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Chen said.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
CCIA spends on start-ups
China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) yesterday said its CDIB Capital Innovation Accelerator (CCIA, 開發創新加速器), which facilitates the development of emerging companies in Taiwan, has invested in six start-ups since becoming operational a year ago. The start-ups include artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, mobile Internet and next-generation e-commerce businesses, CDIB Capital International Corp (中華開發資本) president Ho Chun-huei (何俊輝) said.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Hoffman opens in Taipei
The Hoffman Agency, a global public relations firm, yesterday announced the establishment of its Taipei office this month, making it the firm’s eighth office in Asia. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the firm said in a news release that it would focus on helping Taiwanese tech companies and start-ups enter international markets.
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
PROBE CONTINUES: Those accused falsely represented that the chips would not be transferred to a person other than the authorized end users, court papers said Singapore charged three men with fraud in a case local media have linked to the movement of Nvidia’s advanced chips from the city-state to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm DeepSeek (深度求索). The US is investigating if DeepSeek, the Chinese company whose AI model’s performance rocked the tech world in January, has been using US chips that are not allowed to be shipped to China, Reuters reported earlier. The Singapore case is part of a broader police investigation of 22 individuals and companies suspected of false representation, amid concerns that organized AI chip smuggling to China has been tracked out of nations such
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