EQUITIES
Chip stocks push TAIEX up
The TAIEX yesterday rose sharply on gains by large-cap semiconductor stocks, which mirrored a 1.41 percent overnight increase in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. While non-tech stocks were mixed, high liquidity led to strong rotational buying of select old-economy stocks, in particular in the shipping industry, lending additional support to the broader market, dealers said. The TAIEX ended up 157.77 points, or 0.92 percent, at the day’s high of 17,371.29. Turnover totaled NT$433.107 billion (US$15.66 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$14.29 billion in shares, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreign investors drop out
Foreign investors last week bought a net NT$170 million of local shares after they bought a net NT$7.02 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares bought by foreign investors last week were Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行), ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) and Macronix International Co (旺宏電子), while the top three sold were Innolux Corp (群創), AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), the exchange said.
SOLAR ENERGY
Giga Solar plans share sale
Solar paste maker Giga Solar Materials Corp (碩禾電子) yesterday said its board has approved the sale of 10 million shares to a strategic investor through a private placement at NT$124.4 per share. The firm said in a regulatory filing that it aims to raise NT$1.24 billion and plans to use the funds to develop materials for electric vehicle batteries. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) plans to buy 8 million shares through its subsidiary, Hyield Venture Capital Co (鴻揚創投).
APPAREL
Makalot’s profit up 17.69%
Apparel manufacturer Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽) yesterday reported a pre-tax profit of NT$129.89 million for last month, up 17.69 percent year-on-year from NT$110.37 million, but down 48.46 percent month-on-month from NT$252 million. In the first five months of this year, pre-tax profit surged 54.09 percent year-on-year to NT$1.21 billion, Makalot said in a regulatory filing. That translated into pre-tax earnings of NT$5.24 per share, up from NT$3.57 a year earlier.
AUTO PARTS
Tong Yang’s profit spikes
Automotive components supplier Tong Yang Industry Co (東陽實業) yesterday reported NT$10.71 million in pre-tax profit for last month, despite foreign exchange losses of NT$25.91 million. Last month’s figure was up 609 percent from a year earlier. The firm attributed the growth to increasing demand from US and European clients after economies reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns. During the first five months, pre-tax profit rose 29 percent annually to NT$354 million. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange, pre-tax profit would have risen 51 percent annually, Tong Yang said.
AIRLINES
CAL to add California flights
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) would add two more round-trip flights to California next month and in August amid growing demand. The carrier said flight CI024 would fly from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino on July 13 and 27, and on Aug. 10 and 24. The return flights would leave California on July 15 and 29, and on Aug. 12 and 26, it said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the