EQUITIES
Investors bank on US rally
The TAIEX moved sharply higher to close above 18,100 points yesterday, as upward momentum on the main board continued from the previous session after an overnight rally on US markets. Buying rotated to the bellwether electronics sector as investors took their cues from a robust showing by tech stocks in the US, while select old economy stocks continued to post gains on the back of growing raw material prices worldwide. The TAIEX closed up 185.20 points, or 1.03 percent, at 18,151.76, after moving between 18,039.23 and 18,168.60. Turnover totaled NT$294.063 billion (US$10.57 billion), with foreign institutional investors buying a net NT$10.41 billion of shares on the main board. Institutional investors were adjusting their portfolios, because global index provider MSCI Inc is scheduled to release the results of its quarterly index review early this morning, analysts said.
COMPUTERS
Advantech revenue rises
Industrial computer manufacturer Advantech Co (研華) yesterday reported revenue of NT$5.38 billion for last month, a 19.36 percent increase from NT$4,511 million a year earlier. Last month’s revenue was the third-highest in the company’s history, Advantech said in a statement. In terms of regions, Europe, North America and emerging markets were the best performers last month, posting annual revenue growth of 37 percent, 29 percent and 41 percent respectively, the company said. Among its business units, its service-Internet of Things (IoT) unit and applied computing unit had the most growth momentum, with annual sales growth of 74 percent and 58 percent respectively, it said. However, its cloud-IoT unit performed relatively poorly with a double-digit decline in sales from a year earlier due to component shortages and last year’s relatively high comparison base, it said. The company’s orders to shipments ratio reached 1.45 last month, it added.
LABOR
Furloughed workers drop
The number of workers on formal furlough programs in Taiwan has over the past week dropped below 13,000, but mainly because certain business sectors are still in the process of reporting their data, the Ministry of Labor said on Tuesday. The number of workers who agreed to take unpaid leave fell to 12,659 as of Monday, down 344 from the previous report released on Jan. 24, data compiled by the ministry showed. Meanwhile, the number of companies with furlough programs in place fell by 113 from a week earlier to 2,019.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Hon Hai sets Thai EV target
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) has set a goal of producing 150,000 electric vehicles (EVs) in Thailand by 2030 through a joint venture that was launched there on Monday. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, said in a statement that Horizon Plus Co Ltd, the joint venture set up with state-owned oil supplier PTT Public Co, opened on Monday and would have an initial annual capacity of 50,000 units. That capacity is expected to rise to 150,000 units by 2030 to meet anticipated rising demand in Thailand and other Southeast Asian markets, the company said. Hon Hai in September last year signed a deal with PTT to establish the joint venture. The two companies said at the time that they would invest up to US$2 billion in the new company through subsidiaries, with Hon Hai holding a 40 percent stake and PTT the remaining 60 percent.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
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