EQUITIES
TAIEX closes below 17,200
The TAIEX yesterday closed below 17,200 points, as investors turned cautious after foreign institutional investors recorded a net sale a session earlier, ending six sessions of buying. The bellwether electronics sector led the downturn as investors locked in strong gains. However, in the last few minutes before the end of the session, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) was the focus of bargain hunting, helping the broader market recoup some of its earlier losses. The TAIEX closed down 89.65 points, or 0.52 percent, at 17,184.91. Before yesterday, the benchmark index had risen 4.2 percent so far this month, following a 6.42 percent increase last month, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$311.226 billion (US$10.1 billion), with foreign institutional investors selling a net NT$1.78 billion of shares after Monday’s net selling of NT$4.43 billion, exchange data showed.
BROKERAGES
Firms’ profit soars 67.79%
Securities firms reported combined net profit of NT$5.93 billion for last month, up 67.79 percent from the previous month, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said yesterday. As total TWSE trading value grew 45.84 percent month-on-month to NT$5.71 trillion last month, securities firms reported an increase in brokerage fee income from the previous month, the exchange said. Net profit from dealers trading increased 106.22 percent and net underwriting income soared 108.3 percent from the previous month. In the first five months of this year, accumulated net profit among securities firms totaled NT$25.58 billion, up 65.44 percent from the same period last year, it said.
CURRENCY
NT dollar to strengthen
The New Taiwan dollar might gain against the US dollar in the fourth quarter, when the market starts considering the next monetary move by the US Federal Reserve, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said on Monday. However, there is a slim chance of rate cuts by Fed before the year’s end, Lin said. The NT dollar yesterday declined NT$0.094 against the US currency to close at NT$30.89 in Taipei trading. The local currency dropped 9.83 percent versus the greenback last year and has fallen 0.59 percent so far this year. Meanwhile, Lin said he expects a soft landing in the global economy this year, as a booming service industry helps mitigate the effects of the sluggish manufacturing industry.
RESEARCH
ITRI to collaborate in France
The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) signed a memorandum of understanding on 6G technologies collaboration with leading French research institute EURECOM at the EuCNC & 6G Summit in Gothenburg, Sweden, on June 9, ITRI said in a statement yesterday. Under the agreement, the two side would collaborate on areas including joint communication and sensing (JCAS), reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) and open radio access network architecture, the statement said. The cooperation is expected to open up opportunities for industries, academia and research institutions in Taiwan to participate in the EU’s 6G project proposals and early-stage verification and testing, it said. JCAS technology facilitates the integration of radar perception for the base station industry, and RIS technology meets the energy-saving and low-power consumption requirements of leading communication companies, it added.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
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