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Regional weakness hurts stocks
Shares closed down 0.75 percent yesterday at the day's low as losses across regional markets weakened any follow-through interest and drove investors to take profits, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 60.36 points at 7,984.65, slipping off the 8,000-point benchmark. Turnover was NT$93.78 billion (US$2.84 billion).

New York Life reaches deal
New York Life International, the US' largest mutual insurance company, said yesterday that it has reached an agreement with Citibank and Polaris Group to continue to market its bancassurance products through 55 branches of Bank of Overseas Chinese (BOOC, 華僑銀行).
New York Life controls around 4.5 percent of the local lender, which was acquired by Citibank from the hand of largest shareholder Polaris earlier this month. It was reported that the insurer's opposition was once the factor in delaying the buyout deal in the final stage of negotiations.
The five-year agreement allows the US life insurer exclusive right to sell through BOOC's distribution network in the first year. The company can also sell via Citibank's 11 outlets across the country, it said.
New York Life also signed a contract with Polaris to market life insurance products through branches of Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) for the next 10 years. The insurer would enjoy exclusive marketing via Polaris for the first five years, it said.

Uni-President buys stake
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業) said yesterday that it has bought a stake in popular Vietnamese beverage firm Tribeco as part of its plans to expand in the Southeast Asian country.
The 13 percent stake in listed Saigon Beverages Joint Stock Co -- better known as Tribeco -- cost NT$70 million, Uni-President said in a statement.
"Vietnam's market potential is huge. Over the past two years, Vietnam's tea market surged more than 50 percent a year," Uni-President spokeswoman Selina Wu (吳旭慧) said.
"Through the strategic alliance, we hope Uni-President can tap the fast expanding market," she said.

Softex opens next week
The Softex computer software and applications show will be held at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall from May 3 to May 7, the show organizer -- the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會) -- announced yesterday.
There fair will see 120 vendors taking up 620 booths to showcase not only the latest product trends but fashion and aesthetic elements, the association said.
The fair is expected to attract 350,000 visitors, up from 290,000 last year, because admission will be free, the organizer said.
There will be a special pavilion showcasing winning designs from Germany's iF Awards, including the entries from Asustek Compute Inc (華碩電腦), Acer Inc and MiTAC International Corp (神達電腦).

Acer's profits rise
Acer Inc, the world's third-largest personal computer vendor, said yesterday that its net profit last year rose 20 percent to NT$10.22 billion due to strong demand.
Sales were also up 16 percent to NT$238.20 billion from the previous year, it said.
Acer announced last week it replaced China's Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) as the world's third-largest PC vendor in the quarter to last month, citing a report released by Gartner Datarequest.

NT loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar continued to lose ground against its US counterpart yesterday, dropping NT$0.009 to close at NT$33.192 on the Taipei Forex Inc. Turnover was US$1.058 billion.


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