ENERGY
Gas not to rise over holiday
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said that state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) would not raise its gasoline and diesel prices if world crude oil prices increased during the Lunar New Year holiday, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 13. However, if global oil prices fall, people would likely see a downward adjustment in prices at CPC’s gas pumps, the ministry said in a statement. CPC would also keep prices of household and industrial liquefied natural gas unchanged until the end of next month, it said. Prices for 20kg cylinders of liquefied petroleum gas would remain unchanged until the end of March, it added. Separately, Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖) yesterday said that it would not adjust prices of sugar and cooking oil products before the Lantern Festival on Feb. 15 in compliance with government policy.
EQUITIES
Rate-hike fears hit TAIEX
The TAIEX yesterday came under heavy pressure with selling sparked by steep losses on US markets overnight after a spike in the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, indicating fears over higher interest rates, dealers said. The higher US Treasury yield led highly priced tech stocks to lose their luster, with contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in focus, pushing the broader market below the 20-day moving average of 18,257 points at the end of the session, they said. The TAIEX closed down 151.18 points, or 0.82 percent, at 18,227.46. Turnover totaled NT$255.683 billion (US$9.25 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$1.95 billion of shares on the main board. Shares in TSMC fell 1.21 percent to close at NT$654, and the stock’s downturn contributed about 67 points to the TAIEX’s decline.
BROKERAGES
Firms’ income tumbles 27%
The nation’s securities firms reported combined net profit of NT$7.195 billion for last month, down 26.97 percent from the previous month, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday, citing falling brokerage fee income, dealer trading income and underwriting income amid a decline in trading value on the main board during the month. For the whole of last year, securities firms reported accumulated net income of NT$105.43 billion, up 80.35 percent from 2020, as income generated from brokerage fees, dealer trading income and underwriting charges grew substantially from a year earlier amid rising stock transactions on the main board, the exchange said.
ELECTRONICS
Wiwynn posts record profit
Wiwynn Corp (緯穎科技), a cloud computing equipment supplier, on Tuesday reported record net profit of NT$8.65 billion for last year, up 0.4 percent from 2020, as consolidated revenue increased 3 percent to NT$192.63 billion, the highest in the company’s history. Earnings per share were NT$49.46, the company said in a statement. Gross margin and operating margin last year fell 0.1 percentage points apiece to 8.1 percent and 5.9 percent respectively, due to rising raw material prices and unfavorable exchange rates, Wiwynn said. The company, a subsidiary of contract electronics maker Wistron Corp (緯創), said that its computing business is likely to continue to grow steadily on the back of stable demand for devices used for remote working and online learning, as well as for artificial intelligence applications. However, supply-chain risks remain a concern, it added.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
Taiwanese artificial intelligence (AI) server makers are expected to make major investments in Texas in May after US President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office and amid his rising tariff threats, Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (TEEMA, 台灣電子電機公會) chairman Richard Lee (李詩欽) said yesterday. The association led a delegation of seven AI server manufacturers to Washington, as well as the US states of California, Texas and New Mexico, to discuss land and tax issues, as Taiwanese firms speed up their production plans in the US with many of them seeing Texas as their top option for investment, Lee said. The
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