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TAIEX closes up
Shares closed 0.22 percent higher yesterday, with the market continuing its recent pattern of range-bound trade ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays, dealers said.
They said China plays, led by tourism-related stocks, outperformed following a fresh report that China may allow mainlanders to travel to Taiwan directly for sightseeing from April 1.
The TAIEX added 17.31 points at 7,859.53,on turnover of NT$97.20 billion (US$2.95 billion).
Risers led decliners 340 to 253, with 141 stocks unchanged.
For the week to yesterday, the weighted index closed up 82.50 points or 1.06 percent after a 0.57 percent decline a week earlier.
Daily average turnover stood at NT$88.99 billion, compared with NT$83.83 billion the previous week.

Union Bank fined for ads
The Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行), the nation's fourth-largest credit card issuer, was fined NT$1 million (US$30,330) yesterday by the Fair Trade Commission for false advertising.
In advertisements posted between March and May 2005, the bank claimed that those applying for its co-branded credit card launched with Breeze Center (微風廣場) were entitled to a mobile phone as the gift.
However, it failed to disclose usage restrictions and thereby misled consumers, violating Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法), the commission said.

Taishin recalculates loss
Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) said yesterday that its board approved an unaudited financial book that showed that the company incurred an annual loss of NT$16.1 billion (US$488 million) last year, up from the previous disclosure of negative NT$11.86 billion last month.
The huge deficit made Taishin Financial, owner of the nation's second biggest credit card issuer, the poster of the highest loss among the nation's 14 financial holding firms.
The rising figure resulted from careful recalculation after factoring in the potential loss incurred by restructured loans under a credit and cash card debts negotiation program, the company said in a statement released yesterday.
Taishin Financial plans to hold an investors conference in April after the silence period it is required to observe for its issuance of NT$17 billion of subordinate debentures.

Embezzling ruins holidays
President of the Taipei-based Hsi Yang Yang Travel Service Co (喜洋洋旅行社), Chu Hsiang-ping (屈湘平), embezzled NT$13.2 million (US$400,000) it was discovered yesterday, affecting 612 tourists who planned overseas tours during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
The 13 group tours were arranged for the Philippines between next Thursday and Feb. 24, the Tourism Bureau.
The bureau revoked the company's operations license and will hold a meeting with the Travel Agent Association of Taiwan (旅行公會全國聯合會) and the Travel Quality Assurance Association (品保協會) on Monday to help the tourists transfer to other tourist firms.
Affected consumers can contact the Travel Quality Assurance Association for refunds and inquiries, the bureau said.

NT dollar lower for the week
The New Taiwan dollar posted a weekly drop on speculation that domestic investors were sending money abroad to receive higher yields than they could get on local assets.
The NT dollar fell 0.2 percent this week to close at NT$32.971 against the US currency, according to Taipei Forex Inc.

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