EQUITIES
TAIEX moves lower
The TAIEX moved lower yesterday, falling by more than 100 points as the bellwether electronics sector took a hit from losses incurred by tech stocks listed on US markets overnight. However, with the market awash in liquidity, buying rotated to old-economy stocks in the shipping and cement industries as investors tended to park their money in safe havens outside the tech sector, dealers said. The TAIEX closed down 121.76 points, or 0.70 percent, at 17,202.11. Turnover totaled NT$439.833 billion (US$15.62 billion). Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$20.26 billion of shares on the main board yesterday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
BROKERAGES
Combined profit surges
Securities firms in Taiwan reported combined net profit of NT$11.47 billion for last month, up 52.78 percent from the previous month, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said in a statement yesterday. Accumulated net profit among securities firms in the first three months of this year totaled NT$26.85 billion, up NT$31.45 billion from the same period last year, the exchange said. As total TWSE trading value grew 56.29 percent month-on-month to NT$7.06 trillion last month, firms reported an increase in brokerage fee income than the previous month, it said. However, net profit from trading decreased 4.88 percent monthly, while net underwriting income increased by 67.12 percent, it said.
TECHNOLOGY
Ene to cancel shares
IC designer Ene Technology Inc (迅杰科技) yesterday announced a capital reduction scheme in which it would cancel 51.55 percent of its shares in circulation to pare accumulated losses. The scheme would reduce its capitalization to NT$363 million from NT$386.5 billion, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said it expects net value per share to recover to NT$12 following the capital reduction. The company’s board of directors approved a private placement plan to woo potential strategic investors and boost working capital. The company proposed issuing up to 8 million new shares in the private placement, the filing said.
TECHNOLOGY
Naver eyes global growth
Naver Corp wants to boost its international presence after its US debut last month. To help with that, the South Korean company is considering more US dollar bond sales and is eyeing a possible initial public offering in the US for a unit, Naver chief financial officer Park Sang-jin said in an interview. “To grow, it’s inevitable that we go global,” said Park, who has been with the firm since it was founded in 1999. Naver is looking for more opportunities in Japan, where its Line messaging service is popular, as well as Taiwan, Europe and Southeast Asia, he said.
ELECTRONICS
Purple iPhone sales unveiled
Preorders for purple iPhone 12s and iPhone 12 minis are scheduled to start tomorrow in Taiwan, with the country selected as one of the first markets for sales, Apple Inc said on its Web site. The US electronics giant said that preorders for the “stunning” purple devices would start at 8pm and the new phones would go on sale on Friday next week at a starting price of NT$23,900. The announcement came after Apple unveiled the new color of its latest iPhones overnight.
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
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