Financials boost bourse
Shares rose to a 14-month high yesterday, led by financial stocks, as investors shifted funds to the sector on concerns over high oil prices.
The TAIEX rose 16.03 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,373.86 -- the highest level since April 29, last year, when the benchmark index closed at 6,402, on turnover of NT$100.79 billion (US$3.21 billion).
"Compared with technology shares, financial shares are a safer bet for investors [when oil prices are high]," said Andrew Teng (鄧安瀾), sales manager at Taiwan International Securities (金鼎證券).
Shares in Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) rose 2.5 percent to NT$18.45. Cathay Financial Holding Corp (國泰金控) gained 2.1 percent to NT$63.
MOF plans Q3 bond sale
The government plans to sell NT$100 billion of bonds in the third quarter to help fund spending, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday.
The government sold the same amount of bonds in the July-September period last year.
The ministry plans to auction NT$30 billion of five-year bonds on July 15, NT$30 billion of 20-year debt on Aug. 11 and NT$40 billion of 10-year securities on Sept. 7, according to a statement on its Web site.
GM seeking auto parts
General Motors Corp and BorgWarner Inc plan to make automobile-part purchases from Taiwanese companies totaling US$105 million, a Chinese-language newspaper said.
GM will buy NT$1.8 billion of alloy wheels for automobiles from Yuan Feng Industrial Co (源恆), the report said, citing Yuan Feng president Liu Mao-shu (劉茂樹).
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
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Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI