■ Nanya plans Kunshan expansion
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), part of Taiwan's largest petrochemical maker Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), said yesterday it is planning a US$110 million investment to expand its Kunshan production site in eastern China.
Through a 50 percent stake with a Chinese partner Nan Ya Plastics will build a third phase glass yarn production, a Nan Ya Plastics official said.
"We aim to raise the annual glass yarn capacity of the Kunshan plant by about 38,000 tonnes through the new investment largely for the plant's copper clad luminate production use," he said.
Currently, the Kunshan plant churns out 68,000 tonnes of glass yarn a year.
The official said the US$110 million Kunshan investment has secured approval from board directors but still needs regulatory approval to go ahead.
■ Taiwan Mobile sells shares
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), the nation's second-biggest mobile phone operator, sold Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) shares for the 11th time this year, bringing the total gain on the sales to NT$1.1 billion (US$33.6 million).
Taiwan Mobile sold 8.7 million shares for NT$473 million, or an average price of NT$54.47 a share, making a gain of NT$68 million, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. Taiwan Mobile owns about 1.1 percent of Chunghwa Telecom after yesterday's sale, the statement said.
Taiwan Mobile is planning to sell 200 million Chunghwa Telecom shares, or about 2 percent of Taiwan's largest phone company, this year, the Economic Daily News said on Jan. 23, citing Taiwan Mobile president Harvey Chang (張孝威).
■ Taichung's Zone two now open
Taichung Free Trade Port is now open to business after the port's Zone Two won Ministry of Transportation and Communications approval to join Zones One and Three which have been in operation since last October.
With seven companies running, Taichung Free Trade Port handled 250,000 tonnes of cargo from January to last month, achieving trade worth NT$2.68 billion -- the best performance among Taiwan's four sea and one air ports that are allowed to conduct free trade.
The opening of Zone Two makes Taichung Free Trade Port a 536-hectare business area near scores of wharfs. Harbor Bureau officials said quite a number of businesses have shown an interest in setting up shops in the free trade port.
Besides the three designated zones, the free trade port has an additional 158 hectares of land that is available for business, they said.
■ Overseas investment popular
Taiwanese companies are increasingly in favor of private placement and overseas investors when raising funds for expansion, the Financial Supervisory Commission said, citing its latest data.
As of the end of June, the commission approved 60 applications to solicit as much as NT$215.14 billion in funds, up from NT$206.23 billion a year earlier, according to the data release yesterday.
Funds raised through private placement tripled NT$65.40 billion from NT$21.13 billion over the comparable period, the statistics showed.
The most high-profile fundraising through private placement was Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) that raised a combined NT$31 billion from Newbridge Capital Inc of the US and Nomura Group of Japan in February, which accounted for nearly half of the privately raised capital, according to the data.
■ NT declines against the US
The New Taiwan dollar traded lower against the US dollar, declining NT$0.101 to close at NT$32.745. Turnover was US$736 million.
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