The COVID-19 pandemic did not cast a shadow over the nation’s 1,736 publicly traded companies, with their combined pretax profit rising 21.04 percent from a year earlier to a record NT$3.11 trillion (US$109.18 billion) last year, as firms in the technology sector benefited from new businesses, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
That followed an annual decline of 9.84 percent in pretax profit from NT$2.84 trillion in 2018 to NT$2.56 trillion in 2019, commission data showed.
All TWSE-listed companies, except for KY stocks, saw their overall revenue increase 1.08 percent year-on-year to NT$32.26 trillion and their combined pretax profit expand 21.7 percent to NT$2.8 trillion, the data showed.
KY stocks refer to overseas Taiwanese businesses with a primary listing on the nation’s bourses.
Most of the momentum behind the profit came from local firms in the computer and electronic components sector, which benefited from rising demand for consumer goods due to a work-from-home trend, as well as firms in the semiconductor sector, which profited from 5G development, the commission said.
The container and bulk shipping industry also contributed high profit gains last year due to rising freight rates, it said.
All Taipei Exchange (TPEX)-listed corporations, excluding KY stocks, reported a 2.45 percent annual rise in their combined revenue to NT$2.19 trillion and an annual growth of 20.21 percent in overall pretax profit to NT$222.5 billion, the commission said.
The gains came from the TPEX-listed firms in the semiconductor, electronic components, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
As many biotechnology firms’ share prices advanced last year because investors were upbeat about the development of vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, their shareholders could see more investment gains, Tsai said.
KY stocks listed on the TWSE and the TPEX saw their overall revenue fall 1.32 percent annually to NT$872.3 billion last year, as some KY stocks were hit by a decline in consumption during the pandemic, the commission said.
However, their combined pretax profits rose 4.03 percent to NT$82.6 billion, the data showed.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS