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.
RECORD BUDGET: TSMC does plan to raise its proposed capital expenditure a lot, and could benefit if Intel outsources more of its production to foundries, analysts said Intel Corp’s earnings conference call on Thursday is expected to clarify the US semiconductor giant’s outsourcing production plans, which would be crucial regarding Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) performance, analysts said. “TSMC stands to benefit if Intel outsources more of its fabrication to foundries,” SinoPac Securities Investment Service Corp (永豐投顧) analysts said in a note on Friday. Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) was more cautious, saying that Intel’s contribution initially would be limited, but its outsourcing plans would still highlight TSMC’s leadership in technology, it added. “Intel will continue to manufacture server or high-end central processing units [CPUs], which have higher
MOBILE SMART: The Dimensity 1200 is 22 percent better in terms of performance than its predecessor, and 25 percent more power-efficient, the handset chip designer said MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday unveiled its premium 5G processors — the Dimensity 1200 and Dimensity 1100 — as it vies for a larger slice of the world’s rapidly growing 5G smartphone market. Manufactured using Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (台積電) 6-nanometer process technology, the Dimensity 1200 processor performs 22 percent better than the previous generation Dimensity 1000+ processor, and is 25 percent more power-efficient, MediaTek said. Chinese smartphone brands Xiaomi Corp (小米) and Realme Mobile Telecommunications (Shenzhen) Co (銳爾覓移動通信) are to be the first adopters of the latest Dimensity chips, the companies said during a virtual media briefing. Xiaomi plans to equip its first
Norway’s oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world’s wealthiest countries, but its dreams for deep-sea discovery now center on something different. This time, Oslo is looking for a leading role in mining copper, zinc and other metals found on the seabed and in hot demand in green technologies. The country could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms. However, that could also place it on the front line of
‘BROAD RANGE’: The US Department of Commerce intends to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei, an industry association said US President Donald Trump’s administration notified Huawei Technologies Co (華為) suppliers, including chipmaker Intel Corp, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told reporters. The action — likely the last against Huawei under Trump — is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat. The notices came amid a flurry of US efforts against China in the final days of Trump’s administration. US president-elect Joe
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