FTC approves cement deal
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday approved TCC International Holding Ltd's (台泥國際集團) acquisition of Chia Hsin Cement Greater China Holding Corp (嘉新水泥中國控股), saying the buyout would not influence competition in the cement market.
The deal allows TCC International Holding's parent company, Taiwan Cement Corp (台灣水泥) -- the nation's largest cement maker -- to control 43.91 percent of Chia Hsin Cement Corp's (嘉新水泥) Chinese unit's shares.
Chia Hsin Cement Greater China mainly focuses on the Chinese market, and its market share in Taiwan was less than 1 percent last year, the commission said in a statement yesterday.
"The deal will not seriously affect the local market," the commission said.
In Hong Kong, shares of TCC International Holding and Chia Hsin Cement Greater China were down by 5.98 percent to HK$8.80 (US$1.12) and 2.58 percent to HK$3.78 respectively yesterday.
TCC International Holding announced its HK$2.6 billion buyout bid last month. The two firms plan to expand their businesses in China through the acquisition.
Marks & Spencer to open units
British retailer Marks & Spencer yesterday announced that it will open two stores in Taipei next month following its Kaohsiung debut in May.
One outlet will be in Tonlin Plaza (統領廣場) on Zhongxiao East Rd and the other in the New York New York shopping mall in Xinyi District. The new stores will offer a complete product range, including clothing for women, men, children, toiletries and food, the company said in a statement.
FTT usage expected to boom
Taiwan's high-speed fiber to home (FTT) usage will grow to more than 2.5 million households in 2010 from 500,000 households this year and 1 million next year, Taipei-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心) said yesterday.
The increase will be a boon for Internet phone and Internet TV operators, due to wider bandwidth and faster transmissions, the MIC said.
FSC approves bank branches
The Financial Supervisory Com-mission (FSC) approved applications from UBS AG, Taipei Branch and Mizuho Corporate Bank to expand yesterday.
UBS, which has one outlet in Taipei, applied to add one outlet in Taichung and one in Kaohsiung, while Mizuho, which has a branch in Taipei and another Kaohsiung, applied to open one in Taichung, the FSC said in a statement.
UBS focuses on the wealth management business, while Mizuho Corporate Bank's main targets are corporate customers based in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), the statement said.
The business scope of both banks are different from their local counterparts, and so their expansions would not affect the competitiveness of the local market, the commission said.
The finance regulator also gave a green light to Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) to upgrade its offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to branches.
Synnex income rises 63%
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強國際), Asia's largest information technology product distributor, yesterday posted NT$1.85 billion (US$56 million) in net income for the first six months of the year, on the back of strong sales of IT products and IC components.
The figure is a 63 percent increase over the same period last year, the firm said in a statement yesterday .
Earnings per share rose to NT$1.74 from last year's NT$1.06. Its second-quarter sales also hit a record high of NT$40.2 billion, a rise of 21 percent from last year.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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