EQUITIES
Foreigners buy NT$26bn
Foreign investors last week bought a net NT$26.46 billion (US$946.69 million) of local shares after selling a net NT$93.47 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares bought by foreign investors last week were Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), while the top three sold were HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Innolux Corp (群創), the exchange said. As of Friday last week, the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$22.07 trillion, or 44.29 percent of total market capitalization, it said.
SHIPPING
Wan Hai profit soars 110%
Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海) yesterday reported net profit of NT$6.15 billion for last month, up 110 percent from a year earlier, or earnings per share of NT$2.77, the highest monthly profit in the company’s history. Revenue also grew 178.9 percent year-on-year to NT$14.94 billion, a company regulatory filing said. Wan Hai released the monthly earnings and revenue data at the request of the Taiwan Stock Exchange due to an unusual spike in its stock price. Its shares yesterday closed up 9.65 percent at NT$125. The company’s share price has surged about 53 percent over the past six sessions.
INTERNET
91APP debuts on TPEX
91APP Inc, a Taipei-based provider of online-merge-offline (OMO) solutions for retailers, is to debut on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX) today. The company, which also helps brands and retailers develop mobile apps, reported more than NT$13 billion in gross merchandise volume last year, up 30 percent from a year earlier, while revenue rose 31 percent to NT$875.21 million. Net profit was NT$206.21 million last year, up 102 percent year-on-year, or earnings per share of NT$1.91, the exchange said. In the first quarter of this year, the company posted net profit of NT$44.41 million, or earnings per share of NT$0.41, on revenue of NT$235.89 million.
SOLAR POWER
SAS to delay annual meeting
Solar firm Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (SAS, 中美晶) yesterday said that it would postpone its annual general meeting from June 24 to July 1, while its semiconductor subsidiary, GlobalWafers Inc (環球晶圓), said it would postpone its meeting from June 22 to Aug. 31. The delays should give the firms time to comply with the government’s disease prevention measures. Subsequent meetings would be set by their boards, based on the virus situation, they said in separate filings with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. However, SAS is to distribute a cash dividend of NT$5.5 per share for this year on Aug. 13, while GlobalWafers is to distribute a cash dividend of NT$10 per share on Aug. 6.
TECHNOLOGY
AirTag on sale in Taiwan
Apple Inc’s latest accessory, the AirTag, yesterday went on sale in Taiwan, with people placing orders to be filled in a month’s time. The device can help users track and find any item to which it is attached, including keys, handbags and devices, Apple says on its Web site. The AirTag is being sold locally for NT$990, or in a pack of four for NT$3,390, the company said. The product is supported by Apple’s Find My app and uses Bluetooth technology, with end-to-end encryption that keeps the user’s location data private and anonymous, it said.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
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