EQUITIES
Semiconductors boost TAIEX
The TAIEX closed higher yesterday as large-cap semiconductor shares attracted buying sparked by an overnight rally in semiconductor shares on US markets caused by an acquisition deal. However, turnover remained thin, as market sentiment was hurt by concerns over possible technical resistance ahead of 13,000 points. Many investors were also waiting for comments on the US economy from the US Federal Reserve during a two-day policymaking meeting that was due to start later in the day, dealers said. The TAIEX ended up 57.83 points, or 0.45 percent, at 12,845.65, on turnover of NT$185.726 billion (US$6.32 billion). Foreign institutional investors bought a net NT$5.90 billion of shares on the main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
CURRENCY
New Taiwan dollar soars
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rose to its highest level against the US dollar in almost two-and-a-half years in the wake of continued fund inflows, dealers said. The local currency ended up NT$0.106, or 0.36 percent, at NT$29.380 against the US dollar, central bank data showed. The closing level was the highest since April 19, 2018, when the NT dollar ended at NT$29.340 against the greenback. A strong Chinese yuan also encouraged traders to pocket more of other regional currencies, including the NT dollar, dealers said. Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry chairman Alex Ko (柯拔希) urged the central bank to take action to keep the currency weak, or Taiwanese machinery exporters would lose their global competitive edge. The central bank is to hold its quarterly policymaking meeting tomorrow and the market has been awaiting comments on the foreign exchange market from Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍).
SEMICONDUCTORS
Local alliance formed
Local semiconductor equipment suppliers C Sung Manufacturing Ltd (志聖工業), Gallant Precision Machining Co (均豪精密) and Gallant Micro Machining Co (均華精密) yesterday said that they have formed an alliance to provide one-stop shop services and integrated solutions for customers. The alliance has set up its first office in Kaohsiung to cope with growing demand from chip testers and packagers, Gallant Precision said in a joint statement. The alliance also plans to build a new laboratory, or a new platform, to speed up product qualification, the statement said.
BUSINESS
Fewer firms plan bonuses
Fewer companies in Taiwan are willing to pay their employees mid-autumn bonuses this year, because of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey released yesterday showed. Only 55.5 percent of employers said that they would distribute bonuses, compared with 60.2 percent last year, the online job bank yes123 said, citing its online polls. Among the companies planning to pay bonuses, the average amount would be 5 percent less from last year, at about NT$1,460, because of the adverse economic effects of the pandemic, the job bank said. Of those planning to issue bonuses, 35.9 percent would pay NT$800 to NT$1,200, 22.4 percent would pay NT$500 to NT$800 and 10 percent NT$1,500 to NT$2,000, the poll found. The survey was conducted from Aug. 26 to Tuesday last week and collected 933 valid responses.
CHIP RACE: Three years of overbroad export controls drove foreign competitors to pursue their own AI chips, and ‘cost US taxpayers billions of dollars,’ Nvidia said China has figured out the US strategy for allowing it to buy Nvidia Corp’s H200s and is rejecting the artificial intelligence (AI) chip in favor of domestically developed semiconductors, White House AI adviser David Sacks said, citing news reports. US President Donald Trump on Monday said that he would allow shipments of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China, part of an administration effort backed by Sacks to challenge Chinese tech champions such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為) by bringing US competition to their home market. On Friday, Sacks signaled that he was uncertain about whether that approach would work. “They’re rejecting our chips,” Sacks
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It is challenging to build infrastructure in much of Europe. Constrained budgets and polarized politics tend to undermine long-term projects, forcing officials to react to emergencies rather than plan for the future. Not in Austria. Today, the country is to officially open its Koralmbahn tunnel, the 5.9 billion euro (US$6.9 billion) centerpiece of a groundbreaking new railway that will eventually run from Poland’s Baltic coast to the Adriatic Sea, transforming travel within Austria and positioning the Alpine nation at the forefront of logistics in Europe. “It is Austria’s biggest socio-economic experiment in over a century,” said Eric Kirschner, an economist at Graz-based Joanneum
France is developing domestic production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries with an eye on industrial independence, but Asian experts are proving key in launching operations. In the Verkor factory outside the northern city of Dunkirk, which was inaugurated on Thursday, foreign specialists, notably from South Korea and Malaysia, are training the local staff. Verkor is the third battery gigafactory to open in northern France in a region that has become known as “Battery Valley.” At the Automotive Energy Supply Corp (AESC) factory near the city of Douai, where production has been under way for several months, Chinese engineers and technicians supervise French recruits. “They
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