ECONOMY
M1B grows 5.76%
Last month’s M1B — a measure of the money in circulation in the nation — grew 5.76 percent year-on-year, slower than the previous month’s 5.9 percent, the central bank reported on Friday last week. The M2 — which includes the M1B, time deposits, foreign-currency deposits and mutual funds — also saw annual growth decrease to 3.59 percent from 4.1 percent. The declines were mainly because of net foreign-capital outflows and slower growth in bank loans and investments, the central bank said. For the first seven months, the average annual growth rates of M1B and M2 were 5.33 percent and 3.70 percent respectively.
SEMICONDUCTORS
Equipment billings rise
North America-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment last month reported worldwide billings of US$2.36 billion, international trade group SEMI reported on Thursday last week. The three-month average of worldwide billings for last month was 4.9 percent lower than June’s US$2.48 billion, but up 4.1 percent from US$2.27 billion in the same period last year, the group said. SEMI Taiwan president Terry Tsao (曹世綸) said global billings declined for the second month in a row, but the overall semiconductor equipment industry is expected to end this year with strong growth, driven by demand for memory products, high-performance computing chips and automotive electronics chips.
TRADE
TAITRA inks Finland deal
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) and its Finnish counterpart on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Taipei to promote bilateral economic and trade cooperation. Businesses exchanges are expected to increase because of the agreement, TAITRA said. The agreement was signed by TAITRA and Business Finland — the major Finnish funding agency for financial research and innovation — at the Fifth Taiwan-Finland Economic and Trade Dialogue.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
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