TAIEX closes higher
Shares closed 0.6 percent higher yesterday as investors picked up bargains among industrials, after missing out on regional gains because of the Double Ten National Day holiday, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed up 57.84 points at 9,697.67. Turnover was NT$156.88 billion (US$4.81 billion).
Risers led decliners 979 to 880, with 284 stocks unchanged.
The New Taiwan dollar closed the day's trading at NT$32.582 against the US dollar, up NT$0.009 from the previous close of NT$32.591.
Turnover was US$970 million on the Taipei Forex Inc.
"We had yet another session of shares consolidating their gains ahead of a key psychological and technical threshold," SinoPac Securities (永豐金證券) assistant vice president Alvin Teng (鄧可欣) said.
Asustek stays upbeat
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's biggest computer motherboard maker, said it did not see any signs of weakness in the global PC market recently despite growing concern, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing Asustek president Jonathan Tsang (曾鏘聲).
"Global demand so far looks good in the fourth quarter," the report quoted Tsang as saying.
Tsang also reaffirmed recent company guidance that it was on track to ship 4.2 million of its own branded laptops this year.
Last month, the company said it expected to see an up to 40 percent increase in revenue this year to between US$23 billion and US$24 billion, up from US$17.2 billion last year.
FSC approves equity funding
The Financial Supervisory Com-mission (FSC) gave approval yesterday of cash injection plans by two US private equity firms to help accelerate financial restructuring at two local lenders.
FSC spokeswoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) said Longreach Group's plan to inject NT$18.8 billion (US$577 million) into EnTie Commercial Bank (安泰銀行) in exchange for a 51 percent stake in the lender was given the green light.
A Carlyle Group-led consortium's plan to invest NT$21.5 billion for a majority stake in Ta Chong Bank (大眾銀行) was also okayed, she said.
However, the recapitalization plans are still subject to Investment Committee screening.
If the committee concurs, EnTie should receive the new funding later this month while Ta Chong will get its money next month, she said.
The commission is still screening US private equity firm SAC Private Capital Group LLC's plan to invest US$650 million in Cosmos Bank (萬泰銀行), Chang said. That the new capital should come either next month or in December, she said.
Chang said the three lenders will continue to be Taiwanese banks even though foreign investors may own more than 50 percent of each of them following the cash influsions.
Acer completes Gateway deal
Acer Inc, which agreed to buy Gateway Inc for US$710 million to become the world's third-biggest personal computer maker, completed its offer and said 86.09 percent of Gateway's shares were tendered.
The period in which Gateway shareholders could tender their shares ended on Tuesday, Taipei-based Acer said on Wednesday in an e-mailed statement.
The bid was extended after it had been originally set to expire on Oct. 1.
Acer received a NT$19.8 billion (US$608 million) loan from Citibank to help finance the tender, the Taiwanese company said in a separate statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The acquisition was first announced in August.
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