Print

Mail

wiki links

Business Briefs

Bank merger approved

The Fair Trade Commission yesterday approved the merger of the Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), the Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) and the Export-Import Bank of the ROC (中國輸出入銀行), saying the deal would benefit the economy.

The state banks can begin the merger once they receive the approval document, the commission said in a statement.

The Cabinet announced in August that the three banks would be merged before the end of the year to create Taiwan Financial Holding Co (台灣金控). The plan is intended to improve the competitiveness of the banking sector.

The new entity is expected to have a greater than 15 percent share of the lending and deposit market. The commission said the move would not reduce competition as Taiwan has a large number of financial institutions.

Products and services provided by the merged company are of high replacement and would not amount to unfair competition, the commission said.

Five-year bonds popular

The central bank said yesterday it sold NT$30 billion (US$920 million) in five-year bonds at a yield of 2.603 percent, exceeding the rate of the previous sale in July.

The auction was oversubscribed 2.25 times, compared with the 2 times of the previous auction of five-year debt on July 17, the central bank said in a statement.

The new securities will be issued on Tuesday.

The government sold NT$20 billion in five-year bonds in July at a yield of 2.53 percent.

U-Ming Corp invests

U-Ming Marine Transport Corp (裕民航運) said it bought a 5.77 percent stake in Far Eastern Air Transport Co (遠東航空) through a wholly owned investment unit to expand its transportation business.

Taipei-based U-Ming, which operates ships to transport coal, iron ore and other dry goods in bulk, bought 35.02 million common shares of Far Eastern Air, a Taiwanese domestic airline, for NT$330 million (US$10.1 million), or an average of NT$9.43 a share, between Sept. 4 and yesterday, the dry-bulk shipper said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange after the close of the market yesterday.

Two SMEs granted funding

The National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan will appropriate some NT$70 million (US$2.15 million) to two local companies by the middle of this month as part of its NT$10 billion funding project for small and medium-sized enterprises, officials said yesterday.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs' said one of the companies is an integrated circuit manufacturer specializing in touch panels, while the other is a biotech company focused on disease prevention and biological detection.

The IC company will receive NT$30 million, while the biotech company will receive NT$40 million, officials said.

China's Home Inn wants in

China's Home Inn (如家酒店) hotel chain is considering expanding into Taiwan, a newspaper said yesterday.

Sun Jian (孫堅), executive director of Home Inn, visited Taiwan to study investment conditions, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported.

Sun was reportedly satisfied with the investment climate and believes the time is right for building hotels in the country since Taiwan will lift the ban on Chinese tourists after the presidential election on March 22 next year.

Sun hopes the first Home Inn hotel will open in Taiwan soon, the paper said.

Launched in 2002, Home Inn is the fastest-growing hotel chain in China and has 300 hotels in trademark yellow buildings charging 200 yuan (US$30) per room per day.


This story has been viewed 1382 times.