TAIEX up on Wall Street gains
Shares closed 0.23 percent higher yesterday as an early bounce driven by Wall Street's latest gains lost momentum amid fears of moves to cool the Chinese economy, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed up 21.98 points at 9,518.45, on turnover of NT$121.26 billion (US$3.72 billion).
On the foreign exchange market, the New Taiwan dollar ended the day's trading at NT$32.598 against the US dollar, down NT$0.017 from the previous close of NT$32.581 on foreign fund outflows.
Turnover was US$645 million on the Taipei Forex Inc.
Good market performance in the US last week initially helped Taipei's bourse, but fears of a slowdown in the Chinese economy then took hold.
Investors are now waiting to see if Beijing will announce any further cooling measures amid China's 17th Communist Party Congress, which opened yesterday.
Groups to build Vietnam plant
E-United Group (義聯集團) and Tycoons Group Enterprise Co (聚亨企業) plan to spend an estimated US$1.8 billion over the next three years building a steel plant in Vietnam.
The mill, with E-United holding 90 percent and Tycoons the remainder, will have an annual capacity of 2 million metric tons of crude steel, according to Tseng Jung-ching (曾榕青), vice president of E-United.
The factory will supply the partners' plants in Taiwan and Vietnam, Tseng said by phone from Kaohsiung County today. E-United controls Yeh United Steel Corp (燁聯鋼鐵), Southeast Asia's biggest integrated stainless steel mill, according to the company's Web site. Tycoons, also based in Kaohsiung, makes screws and fasteners.
"We're getting ready to break ground for the project," Tseng said. "Start-up of production is expected in three years." The partners may expand the Vietnam project further after three years, Tseng said, giving offering details.
Tycoons and E-United will increase their initial investment to US$3.3 billion, the Vietnam News reported on Oct. 12, without saying where it got the information. Initial capacity of the factory will be 3 million tonnes a year, increasing to 5 million tonnes in the second phase, Vietnam News said.
EVA to offer new cargo service
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), the nation's leading international carrier, said yesterday it will launch cargo services to Houston from Oct. 28, eyeing rising demand.
The carrier will provide two Taipei-Houston flights every week to raise the total weekly flights to cities in the US to 37 from 35, an EVA Air spokeswoman said.
"Houston houses major companies which produce machinery for Taiwan's high tech sector," she said.
Meanwhile, EVA Air will resume cargo services to Frankurt twice a week from Oct. 28 after an expansion of cargo flight capacity, the spokeswoman said.
The carrier suspended cargo flights to Frankfurt in March due to capacity adjustments.
Neo Solar signs large contract
Local solar cell module maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光) yesterday said it had signed a contract with Germany's Scheuten Solar Technology Gmbh to supply products worth US$135 million during the next three years.
The Hsinchu-based company expected the supply agreement, which will take effect next year, would boost its revenues and profits in the future, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Neo Solar is currently supplying solar cell modules to Scheuten Solar based on previous contracts.
Neo Solar expects annual production to increase six-fold to 210 megawatts by the end of next year from 30 megawatts.
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