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.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective
EARNINGS: The chipmaker said the earthquake that struck last month, along with several significant aftershocks, did not cause any structural damage to its fabs Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said revenue for this quarter would be near the lower end of its guidance due to a magnitude 6.4 earthquake on the Richter scale that struck southern Taiwan last month. The quake, which struck the southeastern part of Chaiyi County on Jan. 21, is estimated to cause TSMC losses of about NT$5.3 billion (US$161.4 million) in the first quarter, TSMC said in a statement. However, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said its gross margin and operating margin forecasts in the quarter remain unchanged, as well as its full-year business outlook. TSMC said the earthquake, along with
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