BenQ to sell buildings
Local electronics maker BenQ Corp (明基) yesterday signed an agreement with local insurer Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) to sell two office buildings in Taipei for NT$5.037 billion as part of ongoing efforts to repay debts.
BenQ is expecting to gain NT$1.2 billion (US$36.5 million) from the assets, according to a statement. The transaction will be closed in the next 40 to 60 days.
BenQ would lease one of the buildings, the statement said.
BenQ's Taipei headquarters is a 14-story building with four basement levels, while the adjacent structure is an 11-story building, also with four basement levels.
NCC keeps Tai Yi hanging
Tai Yi Digital Broadcasting (台倚數位廣播) may push back its formal launch date from next quarter after a year-long pilot run because its license review has stalled.
The National Communications Commission yesterday said that it needed more time for discussion before granting Tai Yi a digital audio broadcasting (DAB) license.
Overseas companies are restricted from directly or indirectly investing in local terrestrial television and radio stations.
Tai Yi, a joint venture between the nation's third-biggest mobile operator Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) and handset maker E-Ten Information Systems Co (倚天資訊), aims to be the nation's first digital audio broadcaster.
Overseas investors currently hold a 40.47 percent share in Taiwan Mobile and have a 1.59 percent share of E-Ten.
Tax take drops
The treasury took in NT$283.7 billion (US$8.66 billion) in taxes last month, down by 3.5 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The biggest drop came from income tax revenue, which fell NT$7.2 billion, or 3.2 percent, from a year ago to NT$221.4 billion, because of a higher comparison base last year, the ministry's statistics department said.
Securities transaction tax income jumped 65.3 percent to NT$11.7 billion with daily stock transaction volume last month at NT$150.3 billion, the highest since 2005.
In the first half of the year tax revenues reached NT$960.1 billion, up 6.8 percent from a year ago. The figure accounted for 59.5 percent of the government target.
Profit-taking limits gains
Shares closed 0.16 percent higher yesterday in active trade, largely extending the recent liquidity-driven upswing, dealers said.
However, profit-taking emerged to put a cap on the gains as investors stopped short of selling down holdings excessively over expectations of an extended bull run ahead of elections early next year, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 14.89 points at 9,384.73 on turnover of NT$227.05 billion (US$6.92 billion).
On the foreign exchange market, the New Taiwan dollar fell NT$0.086 to close at NT$32.752 against its US counterpart.
Turnover was US$926 million on the Taipei Forex Inc.
TSMC reports sales drop
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufact-uring Co (TSMC, 台積電) said yesterday that it posted sales of NT$136.20 billion for the six months ending last month, down 14.08 percent from a year earlier.
Last month's sales came in at NT$25.25 billion, up from NT$25.09 billion achieved in May but down 7.5 percent from a year earlier.
In the second quarter, consolidated sales stood at NT$74.92 billion, down from NT$82.12 billion a year earlier, the company said.
The second-quarter tally compares with TSMC's guidance for the period of an increase in consolidated sales to NT$73 billion to NT$75 billion from NT$64.90 billion posted in the first quarter.
RSS