Sampo shelves plans
Sampo Corp (聲寶), Taiwan's largest home-appliance maker, said yesterday that it has shelved plans to purchase a controlling stake of German home-electronics giant Grundig AG.
"The deal can't be closed because of Grundig's unsolved debt," Sampo's financial division director Kanty Wu (吳錦芳) said. "But we do not rule out future negotiations."
Sampo originally planned to pay less than 100 million euros (US$107 million) to buy a 75 percent stake in the Nuremberg-based Grundig. But the two parties failed to reach a final agreement because Grundig may fail to secure a 180 million euro (US$196.43 billion) loan from German banks to cover its debts, Wu said.
The German company currently has 200 million euros in pension liability and 45 million euro loan for capital equipment, he added.
Grundig said earlier in a statement that it was in talks to be taken over by Turkish rival Beko Elektonik AS after discussions with Sampo stalled.
Consumer prices fall
The country's consumer prices fell last month as costs of services, food and clothing declined after the Lunar New Year festival amid worries a US-Iraq war will hurt the global economy.
The seasonally adjusted consumer price index fell 1.7 percent from the previous month, after staying little changed in January, according to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.
The wholesale price index rose 1.3 percent last month from January, seasonally adjusted, and rose 5.3 percent from a year earlier, DGBAS said.
Citbank gets new head
Citigroup Inc, the world's largest credit card issuer, yesterday appointed Chan Tze-ching (陳子政) as new head of the Citibank Taiwan, replacing Eric Chen (陳聖德).
Chan, 46, joined Citibank Hong Kong in 1980. After serving various positions in finance, operations, investment and corporate banking in both Hong Kong and Japan, Chan assumed the position of Citigroup country officer for Hong Kong in 1999.
Chen, who resigned on Monday, may join rival Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信銀金控), local media reported.
Hopes high for bond sales
Up to US$10 billion worth of convertible bonds could be sold in the Asia-Pacific region this year, Morgan Stanley said yesterday.
"Approximately US$5 billion worth of bonds are expected to be sold here in Taiwan," Daniel Palmer, managing director and head of equity capital market of Morgan Stanley (Asia), said yesterday at a press conference.
Palmer attributed the growing interest by investors in convertible bonds over the past years to all-time low interest rates in the US and Taiwan, as well as the high market volatility and uncertainty in the equities markets.
Last year, companies that issued convertible bonds to raise capital were mostly from the high-tech and financial sectors, Palmer said. More financial institutions with good credit ratings are expected to issue new convertible bonds this year, he added.
Foreign reserves up
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$166.334 billion last month, up US$1.494 billion from January, the central bank said yesterday.
As of end of February, Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves stood as the world's third-largest after Japan and China.
NT dollar higher
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.047 to close at NT$34.615 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$631 million.
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