CPC to lower gas prices
Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said yesterday that the ministry had discussed with state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) lowering wholesale prices of gasoline products by NT$0.6 per liter and NT$0.7 per liter for diesel products.
CPC will formally announce its latest price adjustments today, effective tomorrow.
The company will begin applying a new pricing scheme this month, linking domestic prices to Dubai and Brent crude oil prices.
CPC-Hsin Ban merger approved
The Fair Trade Commission yesterday approved a merger application from CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), saying the deal would not make a significant impact on the domestic market.
CPC, which runs 659 gas stations nationwide, applied with the commission to merge with smaller rival Hsin Ban (欣邦), which owns 70 pump stations across Nantou County.
The commission said that it was not opposed to the merger as competition in the local market would remain fierce regardless of whether the companies merged.
Wheat futures hit record
Wheat futures in Chicago climbed to a record, heading for the biggest monthly gain in 34 years, as demand from importers including South Korea and India reduced global inventories.
Prices of the grain have doubled in the past year as adverse weather in Ukraine, Canada, Europe and Australia damaged crops. Global stockpiles will fall to the lowest in 26 years by May 31, the US Department of Agriculture said.
Buyers in Egypt, the world's biggest importer after Brazil, and Taiwan have also sought the grain.
Wheat for December delivery rose as much as US$0.23, or 2.9 percent, to US$8.07 a bushel in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The commodity has gained 28 percent this month, the most since August 1973.
Three banks approve merger
The boards of three state-run banks -- the Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), the Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (中國輸出入銀行) -- yesterday unanimously approved resolutions to merge the three banks into a financial holding company.
The boards also agreed on share swap ratios.
The boards of the three banks agreed to apply with the Financial Supervisory Commission for the establishment of the Taiwan Financial Holding Co (台灣金控) in November and register with the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the new entity in January.
The three parties agreed on a share-swap ratio of one share of the Land Bank of Taiwan for 1.1456 shares of the Bank of Taiwan, and one share of the Bank of Taiwan for 0.3871 shares of the Export-Import Bank.
On Aug. 15, the Cabinet announced the plan to form the national financial holding company by the end of this year.
The Cabinet expects the new entity to garner a local market share of at least 10 percent as well as rank as the 18th-largest bank in Asia.
NT dollar remains strong
Buoyed by continued foreign fund inflows, the New Taiwan dollar yesterday remained strong against its US counterpart and closed NT$0.054 higher at NT$32.996.
Turnover was US$923 million on the Taipei Forex Inc, compared to US$738 million in the previous day.
Foreign investors bought a net of NT$16.63 billion (US$504 million) worth of Taiwan shares, the data from the stock exchange showed.
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