Chung Shing goes to Land Bank
The state-run Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) will take over management of smaller rival Chung Shing Bank (中興銀行) after the government failed in three attempts to sell the bad loan-laden lender. On Oct. 5, Land Bank will take over Chung Shing from the government's Central Deposit Insurance Corp (中央存保), which has insufficient resources to administer the lender, the Ministry of Finance's Bureau of Monetary Affairs said in a statement. The government said Land Bank was chosen because the latter was one of the bidders for Chung Shing in the government's second auction attempt, it said. The transaction leaves the government responsible for Chung Shing, which has about NT$88.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) of bad loans, for at least six months, the statement said. Central Deposit started supervising the struggling lender in 2000 and was used by the government to seize the bank in October 2001 to protect depositors.
Tyan Computer opens center
Tyan Computer Corp (泰安電腦), part of the Mitac Group (神通集團) that specializes in designs and manufactures system board products, yesterday announced the opening of its new Taipei Operating Center in Neihu. President and CEO Symon Chang (張彤) -- who founded the Silicon Valley company in 1989 -- said the establishment of the center will help the company capitalize on a larger pool of engineering talents in the region and gain faster understanding of market changes. "With proximity to manufacturing partners in Asia, coupled with support from Mitac in providing full-system or chassis solutions, this new center will strengthen our competitiveness in this line of business," Chang said. Tyan had NT$2.6 billion in revenues in 2001 and is targeting NT$3 billion in revenue for this year, Chang said. In addition to Mitac, Tyan's major shareholders include Elitegroup Computer System Co (精英電腦) and Orient Semiconductor Electronics (華泰電子), he added.
Flat-panel makers facing slump
HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) said it and other flat-panel display makers may be forced to cut profit targets because prices are falling more than expected, suggesting the industry may no longer be immune to the global computer slump. "We are still evaluating the possible impact in the fourth quarter," said Hannis Chang, HannStar's director of finance. "It's still too early to say whether all the companies will cut profit expectations and by how much." HannStar earlier this year forecast it would post profit of NT$8.2 billion (US$235 million) for the full year after earning NT$3.4 billion in the first half.
Fubon fails to sell bank shares
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) failed to sell its stake in United World Chinese Commercial Bank (世華銀行) after receiving bids below its asking price. Fubon, which began auctioning 559.8 million shares it owns in the bank yesterday at a minimum price of NT$28, will resume the sale today, the stock exchange said in a statement.
NT$ drops to five-month low
The New Taiwan dollar had its lowest close in more than five months on speculation global fund managers converted out of the currency after selling stocks in Taiwan, which in turn weakened the local currency, traders said. The unit yesterday fell NT$0.065 against the US dollar to close at NT$34.9 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. The turnover was US$711 million, up from the previous day's US$446 million. Throughout the session, the local currency traded between NT$34.77 and NT$34.925 against the greenback.
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