Residential auction a success
The government yesterday auctioned off 10 parcels of residential properties, liquidating a total of NT$1.24 billion to replenish government coffers according to the National Property Bureau.
"It appeared that the property market in Taipei is recovering since many land developers tendered their bids at the auction," the bureau said in a statement.
The asking prices of the deals totaled NT$650 million, it added.
The most valuable 647-ping residential unit, located on Tunghwa North Road in Taipei, attracted the most bidders, it said.
Among 18 developers interested in the property, Yunta Construction Development Co (元大建設) won the bid with a closing price of NT$801 million -- 134 percent more than the asking price of NT$342 million, the statement said.
UMC Japan eyes Singapore
United Microelectronics Corp's (UMC, 聯電) Japanese subsidiary, UMC Japan, plans to invest US$45 million in UMC's 12-inch chipmaking affiliate in Singapore, the company's Taiwan head office said in a statement yesterday.
The investment will reserve 2,000 12-inch wafers from the plant's monthly production for the Japanese subsidiary.
The investment aims to allow UMC Japan "to better serve its Japanese customers by providing access to the world's most cutting-edge process technologies manu-factured on advanced [12-inch] wafers," the statement said.
New tech center to open
The US-based Anadigics Inc -- a leading supplier of radio frequency and microwave frequency gallium arsenide integrated circuits to the global communications markets -- announced yesterday that it would open a technology applications center in Taiwan on Monday.
The center, Anadigics' first of its kind in Taiwan, is located in the Neihu Science-based Industrial Park. It will focus on providing competitive and value-added logistics services for customers in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region, a company spokesman said.
Leading companies, including Ericsson, Motorola and Palm, are among Anadigics' clientele.
Taiwan to block hedge funds
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp will compile a list of international hedge funds to try to prevent them from taking advantage of an easing of rules regarding overseas investment, a Chinese-language newspaper reported, citing the Securities & Futures Commission Vice Chair-man Wu Tang-chieh (吳當傑).
New overseas investors in Taiwanese stocks will be required to register with the exchange, the paper said, citing Wu.
A hedge fund is a loosely regulated investment pool, generally open only to wealthy individuals and institutional investors. Since they can utilize greater hedging, leveraging and use of derivative instruments in their investments, their investment techniques are different from traditional funds.
Real estate congress to be held
The Sixth Asia-Pacific Real Estate Congress is scheduled to be held in Taichung next week, with the participation of 400 professionals from 17 countries and areas, Taichung Mayor Jason H (胡志強) announced yesterday.
The congress will be held Sept. 24 to 27. It will be the first international meeting to be held in Taiwan by the FIABCI Taiwan Chapter since 1986, Hu said during a press conference.
Participants are expected to exchange views on five major areas pertaining to real estate industries around the world, he said.
NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned weak against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.001 to close at NT$34.091 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$433 billion.
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