Bank okays fundraising plan
Shareholders of Far Eastern International Bank (遠東商銀) yesterday approved a plan to raise NT$8 billion (US$243 million) at NT$16 per share in a private placement to beef up its lending business and capital adequacy.
The bank's shares closed nearly 7 percent limit-up at NT$15.35 in the local exchange yesterday.
Through the fundraising plan, the bank expects to raise another NT$300 million from interest income and boost its capital adequacy ratio to 12 percent from the current 8.89 percent, the Central News Agency reported yesterday.
Douglas Hsu (徐旭東), who chairs Far Eastern International, was tightlipped about whether the plan was made to introduce strategic foreign investors. Hsu said there was no urgent need to sell the bank, whose financial structure was solid.
The local lender would prefer partnerships with renowned international banks, which can provide know-how, rather than private equity firms which seeks investment return, Hsu said.
Several multinational banks, including HSBC Ltd, reportedly have approached Far Eastern International for takeover investment talks.
As the consumer credit abuse storm eases this year, Far Eastern International expects a medium growth pace, in comparison with a 13 percent rise in total assets to NT$350 billion last year, it said.
Memory chip prices rally
The spot price of computer memory chips have rallied nearly 30 percent over the past 10 days as fears of a shortage in light of the Chinese crackdown on chip smuggling drives up demand, a Taipei-based market researcher said yesterday.
The price hike may give a boost to branded DRAM chips, DRAMeXchange Technology Inc (集邦科技) said in a statement.
The spot price for benchmark DDR2 memory chips jumped 29.4 percent to US$2.07 yesterday, from US$1.6 per unit on June 10, it said.
Fewer supply from major domestic suppliers of computer memory chips was part of the reason behind the uptick, DRAMeXchange said.
Rating on Allianz raised
Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) yesterday raised its insurer financial strength rating and counterparty credit rating on Allianz President Life Insurance Co (統一安聯人壽) to "twAA" from "twAA-."
The outlook on the long-term rating is stable.
The rating upgrade reflects the improved credit profile of Allianz President owing to an increased level of implicit support from the financially stronger Allianz Group, which raised its shareholding of Allianz President from 50 percent to 99.57 percent in late April.
The increased ownership, transforming Allianz President from a joint venture into a subsidiary, provides a foundation for better and easier support from the parent, the rating firm said in a press statement.
NT dollar posts large gain
The New Taiwan dollar posted its biggest gain in almost six months as overseas investors increased purchases of local equities.
The local currency rebounded from an almost three-week low reached last Friday, as stock exchange data showed overseas fund managers bought a net US$1.3 billion of shares yesterday -- the highest since December 2005.
"The currency got support from stock buying today," said Tetsuo Yoshikoshi, a market analyst at the treasury unit of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in Singapore. "Taiwan is catching up with gains in other regional markets earlier this week."
The NT dollar snapped a week of losses, rising NT$0.161 to close at NT$32.981, the biggest appreciation since Jan. 2, Taipei Forex Inc said.
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