Regulator finds Wang's assets
The nation's financial regulator has tracked down NT$90 million in Europe-based assets owned by fugitive business tycoon Wang You-theng (王又曾), former chairman of bankrupt Rebar Group (力霸集團).
The group's bank debtors are seeking ways to claim Wang's assets to repay debts he left in Taiwan, Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) told a press conference yesterday, refusing to give details.
Lotte expands in China
Lotte Shopping Co, South Korea's largest retailer, said it plans to acquire a stake in a discount-store operator in China as it expands in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Lotte agreed to pay 57.6 million euros (US$83.2 million) for the 49 percent stake in CTA Makro (中貿聯萬客隆) to SHV Holdings NV, which operates the Chinese venture, the Seoul-based retailer said in a regulatory filing yesterday.
CTA Makro, in which China Trade Association Property Corp Ltd (中貿聯置業有限公司) owns the remaining 51 percent stake, now operates five discount stores in Beijing and two in Tianjin.
The stake purchase is pending approval from the Chinese government, the statement said.
Kingfisher sells B&Q shares
Kingfisher Plc, Europe's largest home-improvement retailer, agreed to sell its half of B&Q Taiwan to its joint venture partner, Test Rite International (特力股份有限公司), for US$106.5 million in cash.
The Taiwanese unit was founded in 1996 and has 21 stores employing 1,800 people, the London-based company said in a Regulatory News Service statement yesterday. Kingfisher said it will use the proceeds to reduce debt.
"B&Q Taiwan now [only] offers only limited opportunities for future market-share growth," Peter Jackson, chairman of Kingfisher, said in the statement.
Green Energy postpones debut
Green Energy Technology Inc (綠能科技), the nation's biggest solar silicon wafer maker, decided to postpone the initial public offering of its shares on Taiwan's main bourse until the first half of next year, citing a poor stock market, the company said in a statement released yesterday.
The company was scheduled to launch the IPO next Monday. The company stressed it would not slow its expansion next year because of the delay in debuting its shares.
Yesterday, Green Energy obtained a NT$3.5 billion (US$107.75 million) in syndicated loans from 14 banks led by Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) to fund a new 8.5-generation factory with a monthly output of 30 megawatts. The plant is expected to be completed in April next year.
Standard lowers GDP forecast
Standard Chartered Taiwan yesterday revised downward its forecast on the nation's GDP growth next year to 3.8 percent from its earlier estimate of 4.2 percent in July.
It also forecast this year's GDP to level at 5.3 percent.
The bank's chief economist Tony Phoo (符銘財) yesterday warned that the nation will face numerous economic challenges next year including rising inflation and a local economic slowdown, which is triggered by the US subprime crisis, to worsen the prospect on corporate earnings.
He urged the government to soon find ways to spur the economy although he is confident that the inflation rate can be contained below 2 percent next year.
Phoo also predicted the central bank will raise its benchmarket interest rate 0.125 percentage points to 3.375 percent this Thursday.
NT dollar drops
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday dropped by NT$0.105 to trade at NT$32.481 against the greenback on turnover of US$968 million.
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell sharply against the US dollar to close at its lowest level since May 22 amid a massive outflow of funds from the country because of investors panicking over global equity markets. The NT dollar ended at NT$31.580 against the US dollar, slightly lower than its close of NT$31.568 on May 22, after moving between NT$31.5 and NT$31.648 on combined turnover of US$3.062 billion on the Taipei Foreign Exchange and the Cosmos Foreign Exchange. The NT dollar received a significant hit in the morning session, slumping as much as NT$0.173 at a time when other Asian currencies
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is now ranked ninth among the world’s 100 most valuable companies after its market capitalization more than doubled over the past year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan said in a report last month. TSMC’s market capitalization surged 101 percent year-on-year to US$1.427 trillion as of March 31, the accounting and consulting firm’s 2026 Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalization report said. The gain catapulted the world’s largest contract chipmaker from 12th place to ninth in the rankings, and it was the fastest-growing among the global top 10, it said. TSMC was the only Taiwanese company among the top
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported record revenue of NT$416.975 billion (US$13.17 billion) for last month, putting the world’s largest contract chipmaker on track to set a record for quarterly revenue. Last month’s figure surpassed March’s record NT$415.19 billion and represented increases of 1.5 percent from April and 30.1 percent from a year earlier. For the first five months of the year, TSMC generated NT$1.96 trillion in revenue, up 30 percent year-on-year, it said in a statement. TSMC has forecast second-quarter revenue of between US$39 billion and US$40.2 billion, representing sequential growth of about 10 percent and year-on-year growth of about
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