■ Job portal debuts shares
The 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行), the nation's largest job portal, debuted its shares at NT$95 (US$2.93) apiece yesterday on the nation's mainboard before closing up 94.7 percent at NT$185. Through the initial public offering (IPO) to finance expansion, the company becomes the first online human resource firm to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company's shares were previously traded on the gray market. The company's net income reached NT$290 million last year, or NT$9.69 earnings per share (EPS), up from NT$249 million, or NT$10.68, a year ago, according to the company. Analysts forecast NT$12.11 in EPS for 2006.
■ Food firm announces PRC plans
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), Taiwan's leading food company, said yesterday it will set up a 600 million yuan (US$75 million) bottled drinks joint venture in Beijing with China-based NissinHualong Food and Japan's Nissin Food Products Co. The three firms are scheduled to sign an agreement in Beijing tomorrow on the venture, named Jinmailang Drink (Beijing) Co (今麥郎飲品), according to a statement from Uni-President. Uni-President's wholly-owned President Enterprises (China) Investment Co will hold a 50 percent stake in Jinmailang, while a NissinHualong unit will take 33.3 percent and Nissin's Hong Kong unit will own the remaining 16.7 percent. The joint venture is scheduled to start operations from the middle of March, with tea drinks as initial products, it added, noting that the new company's sales target for the first year stands at 900 million yuan.
■ Financial firm to buy shares
China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) said it will buy as many as 133 million shares of Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券) on the open market. China Development offered to buy the Taiwan International shares at NT$14 (US$0.43) apiece from Feb. 19 to March 1, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The purchase would cost China Development about NT$1.86 billion based on the offer price. The stake purchase would allow China Development Financial to control a stake of between 30 percent and 40 percent of Taiwan International, up from some 27 percent currently, after the local brokerage's three-in-one merger with two smaller rivals First Securities Co (第一證券) and Far East Securities (遠東證券), China Development Financial spokesperson Sherie Chiu (邱德馨) said yesterday.
■ Taisugar considers prospecting
Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) is considering whether to restart prospecting at the Jinguashih (金瓜石) mine in Taipei County that has not been worked for nearly 20 years, Taisugar officials said yesterday. Taisugar, which sponsored the meeting with mine operators to exchange views on the mine's potential, said the company expects to finish all necessary paperwork by the end of May and will then begin to invite bids for prospecting. With the soaring price of gold recently on the world market, they said gold mine prospectors from Taiwan, Canada and Australia have expressed keen interest and have contacted the company about reopening the once-famous mine. Prospecting at the Jinguashih mine started under Japanese colonial rule. The Ministry of Economic Affairs stopped any further prospecting in 1987 and the mine was turned over to Taisugar in 1991.
■ NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar on the Taipei foreign exchange market, edging up NT$0.011 to close at NT$32.390. Turnover was US$819 million.
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