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■ World Peace deal moves ahead
World Peace Industrial Co (世平興業), a Taiwanese distributor of semiconductor products such as computer central-processing units, said it and rival Silicon Application Corp (品佳) will form a joint holding company in September in share-swap transactions. One World Peace share will be exchanged for every 1.18 shares in the new holding company, while one Silicon Application shares will be exchanged on a one-for-one ratio, the two companies said in separate statements to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. The new company will have a combined paid-in capital of NT$6.71 billion (US$212 million). Both companies plan to hold shareholders' meetings separately on June 14 to approve the transactions, the statements said.

■ Nanya bond offer rated
Taiwan Ratings Corp (台灣信評) yesterday assigned its "twA-" issue rating on Nanya Technology Corp's (南亞科技) upcoming NT$5 billion unsecured corporate bonds due in 2009 and 2010, the rating company said in a statement. The outlook on Nanya Technology's corporate credit rating is stable, it added. Taiwan Ratings, the local arm of Standard & Poor's, said that ratings on Nanya Technology mainly reflect the strong financial support provided by Nanya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), which is part of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團). The ratings also reflect improvements in Nanya Technology's cost structure and its improving, albeit still limited, market position in the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) industry, the statement reads. The DRAM sector is characterized by intense competition and volatile pricing, as well as rapid technological changes and capital intesity.

■ Insurer to get Land Bank stake
Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) has reached agreement with a European insurance company to take a strategic stake in the state-run lender this year as part of its initial public offering, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing chairman Tsai Che-hsiung (蔡哲雄). The identity of the European company wasn't reported. The government plans to sell 13.5 percent, or 337.5 million shares, in the third quarter this year, followed by the sale of a 13.9 percent stake, or 347.5 million shares, in the fourth quarter, according to the bank.

■ Far EasTone shares to be sold
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) will sell 30 million shares of Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) this year, a company official told lawmakers yesterday. As Far EasTone shares were trading at NT$39.65 on the local bourse yesterday, the share sales is expected to help Taipower rake in more than NT$300 million net profit, Edward Chen (陳貴明), president of the state-run Taipower, said at the Legislature's Economy and Energy Commission.

■ NT dollar closes low
The national currency had its lowest close in more than seven weeks on speculation the nation's central bank will sell the currency to protect exporters as the Japanese yen dropped. "There's concern the central bank is keeping watch on the currency market," said Ivy Lee, a Taipei-based currency trader at Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank (上海商銀). "The central bank may be worried about the pace of appreciation." The NT dollar slid NT$0.173 to close at NT$31.673 against its US counterpart, its lowest close since Feb. 5 and biggest decline since Jan. 5, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The currency last week slid 1.1 percent, its biggest decline since July 26, 2002. The NT dollar's slide today cut the currency's gains this year to 0.8 percent.

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