■ Rail firm misses target
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵) has admitted it will be unable to raise the NT$13.95 billion (US$444 million) it had hoped for by the end of this month. The firm received about NT$6 billion last month and had hoped to raise the remainder by the end of the month, it said in a statement. "After taking into account our funding demands, we decided to delay the plan for the time being," it said. "We will discuss with our syndicated banks a new schedule for further fundraising." Taiwan High Speed on April 1 said it had received a commitment from investors to buy NT$13.95 billion in company shares before the end of this month to help it complete the NT$462.1 billion project on time. China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation's largest steelmaker, on April 21 said it had bought NT$3.2 billion in the company's shares. "The construction of the railroad will not be affected by the postponement" of fundraising, the statement said.
■ Taipower boss stood down
State-run power supplier Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) will change its top managerial position during its annual shareholder meeting today, a government official said yesterday. "Chairman Lin Ching-chi (林清吉) is not on the short list for the company's next chairman," Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) told reporters. That means that Lin, 64, will leave after his two-year term expires today. Ho declined to reveal possible replacements. The position will be temporarily occupied by Taipower president Edward Chen (陳貴明), Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said. The ministry is the biggest shareholder in the electricity monopoly with a 94 percent stake.
■ Brokers oppose changes
The nation's stock regulator yesterday said that there was no timetable for a planned extension of stock-trading hours after brokerage workers decided to protest the change. "We haven't hammered out a specific time as we are still uncertain how much time the brokerage houses will need to adjust their computer systems [to cope with the new trading mechanism]," Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) told a press conference. The Financial Supervisory Commission is considering extending trading hours to 3:30pm with a two-hour break in a move to boost stock turnover. The stock market presently starts at 9am and closes at 1:30pm without a break. Brokers complained that longer trading hours would only increase their workload.
■ China trade jumps
Trade between Taiwan and China in the first three months of this year rose 17.8 percent from a year earlier to US$15.82 billion as demand continued to increase, the Board of Foreign Trade said yesterday. China accounted for 18.5 percent of the nation's total foreign trade in the January to March period, up from 17.3 percent a year earlier, the board said. Exports to China rose 13.8 percent to US$11.35 billion, accounting for 26.5 percent of Taiwan's exports, compared with 25.1 percent previously. Imports were up 29.4 percent to US$4.48 billion, accounting for 10.5 percent of the total, compared with 9.2 percent last year. Taiwan enjoyed a trade surplus of US$6.87 billion with China in the first quarter, up 5.6 percent from a year ago.
■ NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar declined against the US dollar, losing NT$0.038 to close at NT$31.403 on the Taipei Foreign Exchange. Turnover was US$711 million.
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