EQUITIES
TAIEX rises on AI optimism
The TAIEX yesterday moved sharply higher on buying sparked by gains on Wall Street on Friday and ongoing optimism over the development of artificial intelligence (AI) applications, dealers said. While semiconductor stocks took a pause after a recent solid upturn, buying shifted to contract PC makers which also roll out AI servers, they said. The electronics index rose 1.17 percent, and the computer subindex gained 4.03 percent, while the semiconductor subindex edged up 0.52 percent, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) data showed. The TAIEX closed up 168.66 points, or 1 percent, at 17,084.20. Turnover on the main board totaled NT$332.014 billion (US$10.67 billion), with domestic proprietary traders buying a net NT$13.2 billion of shares, while investment trust companies sold a net NT$798.27 million and foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$1.73 billion in shares, TWSE data showed.
EQUITIES
Foreigners sell NT$60.4bn
Foreign institutional investors last week sold a net NT$60.4 billion of local shares after buying a net NT$1.93 billion the previous week, the Taiwan Stock Exchange said in a statement yesterday. The top three shares sold by foreign investors last week were Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華), Innolux Corp (群創) and AUO Corp (友達), while the top three bought were Tatung Co (大同), Unizyx Holding Corp (合勤) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶). As of Friday last week, foreign investors had bought NT$374.11 billion of local shares since the beginning of this year, while the market capitalization of shares held by foreign investors was NT$21.67 trillion, or 40.85 percent of total market capitalization, the exchange said.
SEMICONDUCTORS
TSMC pay hits NT$2.33m
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) median pay worldwide reached about NT$2.33 million last year, while the average compensation received by its production workers exceeded NT$1 million, a report released recently by the company showed. The average monthly income of TSMC employees last year was about four times Taiwan’s minimum monthly wage of NT$25,250, the company’s sustainability report said. It recruited 12,442 employees worldwide last year, including 7,817 for new high-quality jobs, providing competitive wages and incentives to maintain its talent pool, it said. On the back of improving finances, TSMC’s total compensation to employees worldwide grew NT$74.5 billion, or 45 percent, from a year earlier, to NT$239.5 billion last year, it said. Last year, the turnover rate of new hires was 15 percent, and the total turnover rate was 6.7 percent, the report said.
BANKING
E.Sun plans 150 voice ATMs
E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) plans to add 150 automatic teller machines (ATMs) featuring voice guidance capabilities for the visually impaired by the end of this year after launching 99 similar machines last year. A special keypad on the machines enables users with visual impairments to locate numbers while making transactions, the bank said. “It is our goal that all of our bank branches have at least one ATM for the visually impaired by the end of this year,” E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) president Joseph Huang (黃男州) said on Wednesday. The move is part of the bank’s efforts to build an inclusive financial service for clients, he said.
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
The growing popularity of Chinese sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks has shaken up Mexico’s luxury car market, hitting sales of traditionally dominant brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mexicans are increasingly switching from traditionally dominant sedans to Chinese vehicles due to a combination of comfort, technology and price, industry experts say. It is no small feat in a country home to factories of foreign brands such as Audi and BMW, and where until a few years ago imported Chinese cars were stigmatized, as in other parts of the world. The high-end segment of the market registered a sales drop
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
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