■ Stocks rise once more
Shares rose for the third straight session yesterday, led by gains in contract chipmakers. The TAIEX rose 32 points, or 0.5 percent, to 6,453.85. The index has risen 1.4 percent since last Thursday. "Since the contract chipmakers are index heavyweights, their gains had a significant effect on the index and market sentiment," said Bill Huang, a trader at KGI Securities Co (中信證券). Taiwan Semiconductor Manu-facturing Co (台積電), the largest company on the main board by market capitalization, rose 1.8 percent to NT$61.4. Rival United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) gained 0.8 percent to NT$19.5. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world's largest contract electronics maker by revenue, rose 2.4 percent to NT$194. The company said late on Monday that it made an additional investment of US$17.8 million in Hongzhun Precision Tooling, a wholly owned computer component unit in Kunshan, China.
■ Auction boosts currency bonds
The nation's currency bonds rose for a fourth day after a government auction of new 10-year securities attracted demand from long-term investors. The Ministry of Finance sold NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion) of 10-year bonds yesterday at a yield of 1.773 percent, below the yield of existing securities. The ministry last Thursday said it would sell NT$115 billion of debt in the second quarter, 15 percent more than it sold in the same period last year. "Investors bought existing 10-year bonds for long-term investment although the market focus was on the new debt sale," said Tobby Lin, a fixed-income trader at Yuanta Core Pacific Securities Co (元大京華證券). The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond fell 0.1 basis points, or 0.001 percentage points, to close at 1.804 percent, according to the GRETAI Securities Market, the nation's biggest exchange for bonds. The ministry plans to auction NT$40 billion in five-year bonds on April 11.
■ AUO secures project funds
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's No. 3 maker of liquid-crystal screens, hired banks for a US$300 million loan to expand production in China, said two people who were involved in the deal. ABN Amro Holding NV, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, HSBC Holdings Plc and Standard Chartered Plc are arranging the loan, said a banker involved and a company official, who both declined to be named. The seven-year financing is the longest-tenure foreign-currency loan yet for AU Optronics. The company is borrowing to expand a plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and build a new assembly facility in Xiamen.
■ Quanta Display to sell shares
Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), a joint venture between Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Japan's Sharp Corp, said its board approved plans to sell as many as 800 million new shares to raise funds. Quanta Display, a flat-panel display maker, plans to raise up to NT$8 billion selling the new shares at a tentative price of NT$10 a share, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange on Monday. The company may sell the new shares overseas in the form of depositary receipts, or through a private placement, the statement said.
■ NT dollar drops slightly
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei foreign exchange market yesterday, declining NT$0.007 to close at NT$32.577. Turnover was US$697 million.
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