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Shares close higher

Shares closed 0.78 percent higher yesterday -- led by technology shares -- tracking gains in the US overnight, dealers said.

With US tech stocks such as Intel and Yahoo performing strongly, local investors bought into technology heavyweights on expectations they will report solid earnings for the September quarter next week, they said.

The TAIEX closed up 74.91 points at 9,637.07, on turnover of NT$169.74 billion (US$5.21 billion).

Risers led decliners 1,218 to 753, with 241 stocks unchanged.

On the foreign exchange market, the New Taiwan dollar closed the day's trading at NT$32.595 over the US dollar, up NT$0.01 from the previous close of NT$32.605 on renewed foreign fund inflows.

Turnover was US$1.015 billion on the Taipei Forex Inc.

Inbound investment increases

Approved inbound investment by overseas companies topped US$10 billion for the first nine months of this year, an increase of 6 percent over the same period of last year, Ministry of Economic Affairs officials said yesterday.

An official from the ministry's Investment Commission said that Taiwan's inbound investments had shown brilliant performance during the past few years, with that of last year reaching a record high of US$13.96 billion.

In addition to several big investment projects launched by multinational firms in Taiwan, the US biotechnology and pharmaceutical giant MediVas and Intrinsyc Software International Inc of Canada have decided to put their Asian bases in Taiwan, the official said.

Wintek climbs on new funds

Wintek Corp (勝華科技), the world's second-largest manufacturer of mobile-phone screens, climbed the most in two months in Taipei trading after raising US$120 million through a global depositary receipt offering to increase its production capacity.

Wintek, based in Taichung, sold the GDRs for US$6 each, a discount of 6.1 percent from the Oct. 16 close, the day before pricing. The company will use the money to buy materials and parts as it expands production to meet rising demand.

The GDRs will be listed on the Luxembourg stock exchange.

In August, Wintek said it had agreed to buy a factory from rival Hannstar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) for NT$9 billion (US$276 million) to add capacity.

Logitech sales break record

Swiss computer equipment group Logitech on yesterday announced record sales and profits for its second quarter, along with a change at the top as chief executive Guerrino de Luca prepares to step aside.

The company said its operating income had risen 54 percent to 80.4 million dollars for the second quarter of fiscal 2008.

Logitech -- which has bases in the western Swiss town of Romanel-sur-Morges, in Taiwan and in California, employs more than 7,000 people, with manufacturing of computer peripherals centred on Asia.

China's inflation near record

China's inflation rate hovered close to a 10-year high last month as the economy edged closer to overheating, a top planning official said yesterday, signaling that more cooling measures were on the way.

The consumer price index rose 6.2 percent last month and 4.1 percent for the first nine months of the year, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

Last month's figure was down slightly from a 6.5 percent rise in August, the highest inflation China had seen in more than a decade, but it ensured the government's full-year target of 3.0 percent would be exceeded.


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