Uncertainty drags on TAIEX
Share prices closed down 0.51 percent yesterday, coming off early lows as bargain-hunting helped offset the impact of a weak overnight performance on Wall Street amid continuing concerns about interest rates and the economy, dealers said.
Thin turnover reflected investor reluctance to extend Thursday's solid upturn given uncertainty over a parliamentary vote on Tuesday on whether a referendum should be held on President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) future, they said.
The TAIEX lost 32.84 points at 6,452.31, bringing its losses for the week to 123.46 points or 1.88 percent.
Yesterday's turnover was NT$77.54 billion (US$2.37 billion).
Taipei houses need more sweat
It will cost the average person 9.5 years' income to buy a house in Taipei, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the Council for Economic Planning and Development.
The survey found that for the whole country, the average house price is 6.8 times the national average income, compared with 6.9 times for the final quarter of last year, although in Taipei the ratio has risen from 8.9 to 9.5.
The confidence index for house prices rose by 7.97 points to 107.12 in the first quarter of this year, indicating a prevailing optimism among potential buyers about rising house prices.
The survey was conducted between April 15 and May 15 among banks and real-estate brokers across Taiwan.
Ministry selling more bonds
The Ministry of Finance plans to sell bonds worth NT$110 billion (US$3.4 billion) in the third quarter to help fund spending, the ministry said yesterday.
That compares with the NT$100 billion the ministry sold in the July-September period last year.
The ministry plans to auction off NT$35 billion of five-year bonds on July 17, NT$30 billion of 20-year debt on Aug. 14 and NT$45 billion of 10-year securities on Sept. 5, according to a statement on its Web site.
Taipower to raise NT$10.7bn
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), the nation's biggest electricity generator, will sell NT$10.7 billion (US$327 million) of unsecured bonds in its second debt sale this year to help fund expansion.
The state-run utility will sell NT$2.1 billion in five-year notes, NT$3 billion in seven-year debt, NT$3.4 billion in 10-year securities and NT$2.2 billion of 15-year bonds, the company said on its Web site yesterday.
The company, which is 97-percent owned by the government, auctioned off NT$11.5 billion in bonds in March.
TSMC expects growth decade
The world's largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), said yesterday that it expects the global integrated circuit industry to sustain steady growth over the next 10 years.
"The IC sector has reached a consensus that the industry will continue to grow steadily, at roughly 8 percent, between 2005 and 2015," a TSMC spokesman cited a company document as saying.
He said the semiconductor industry was taking advantage of a rapidly growing consumer electronics business, featuring cheap and user-friendly mobile communications devices.
The booming market in the developing world has also served as a driving force for growth, the spokesman said.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar fell against its US counterpart yesterday, declining NT$0.078 to close at NT$32.716 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$924 million.
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