ENTERTAINMENT
M17 to make NYSE debut
M17 Entertainment Ltd (M17娛樂集團), the parent company of live music streaming platform 17 Media, is scheduled to make its US debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday next week. The Taipei-based company aims to raise US$95 million by offering 7.51 million American depositary receipts at US$10 to US$12, according to the terms of its initial public offering. M17 Entertainment, founded by Jeffrey Huang (黃立成), provides live music streaming and dating app services, mainly in Asia.
ELECTRONICS
Team Group revenue to rise
Team Group Inc (十銓科技), a supplier of memory modules and electronics, yesterday said revenue for this year could rise up to 40 percent from last year, driven by demand for embedded-related, gaming and industrial control products. The Taipei-based company said it plans to in September apply with the Taiwan Stock Exchange for an initial public offering before making a local debut by the end of this year. It reported net profit of NT$242 million (US$8.1 million) for last year, up 84 percent year-on-year, with earnings per share of NT$4.79.
MANUFACTURING
Sentiment up in April: TIER
Sentiment regarding the local manufacturing sector improved in April as exports grew at a double-digit percentage from a year ago, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said in a report yesterday. The composite index for the manufacturing sector rose 1.25 from a month earlier to 11.7, ending two straight months of declines, the institute said. The general business climate, pricing and demand — three of the five factors that make up the composite index for the sector — moved higher, the institute said.
PETROLEUM
CPC to increase LNG prices
State-run refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said it has decided to increase prices for liquefied natural gas (LNG) products this month, while keeping the prices for liquefied petroleum gas products unchanged. From today, average prices for LNG products are to increase by NT$0.31 per cubic meter, or 2.99 percent, from last month, CPC said. As a result, an average LNG consumption of between 30m3 and 45m3 per month would mean increased costs of between NT$9.3 and NT$13.95 per household, it said.
MOBILE
Ichia revenue falls 6 percent
Handset keypad maker Ichia Technologies Inc (毅嘉科技) yesterday reported revenue of NT$637 million for last month, down 6 percent from a year earlier and 10 percent from April, as orders from clients began to pick up steam. Last month’s revenue included about NT$509 million in sales of flexible printed circuit integrated components and about NT$130 million from mechanical integrated components, Ichia said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
FINANCE
Assets of OBUs drop 2.3%
The 60 offshore banking units (OBUs) of financial institutions operating in Taiwan had assets totaling US$203.92 billion as of the end of April, down US$4.746 billion, or 2.3 percent, from March, the central bank said on Thursday. The OBUs of 37 local banks held US$181.128 billion in assets, while foreign banks’ 23 OBUs held US$22.792 billion, it said. At the end of April, the primary uses of all OBUs’ funds were discounts and loans, amounting to US$80.678 billion, or 39.6 percent of total assets, it added.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
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