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.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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