TAIEX rises 1.01 percent
Taiwan share prices closed 1.01 percent higher yesterday after a more than 4 percent plunge during the previous session, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed up 79.54 points at 7,962.91 on turnover of NT$130.88 billion (US$4.03 billion).
Risers led decliners 969 to 952, with 441 stocks unchanged. A total of 20 stocks closed limit-up, while 50 were limit-down.
Samson Chueh (闕山雄), an assistant vice president at Yuanta Core Pacific Capital Management (元大投顧), said hopes for eased rules regarding investments in China had helped financial stocks.
Old-economy stocks benefitted from hopes of solid earnings and a shift of investor attention away from the technology sector.
Chueh noted that some technology firms' lackluster sales figures last month had prompted short-term traders to move out of the sector.
Central bank auctions notes
The central bank auctioned NT$25 billion (US$770.3 million) worth of treasury notes with the duration of 273 days yesterday.
The final (highest) yield rate the bidders offered was 2.243 percent, lower than the 2.320 percent final yield rate of the previous issue with the same duration.
Nanya obtains loan for plant
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the nation's second-largest maker of memory chips for computers, yesterday said it would obtain NT$22 billion (US$678 million) in syndicated loans to fund its first 12-inch plant.
Eleven banks led by Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) are slated to sign an agreement with Nanya Technology today, the memory chipmaker said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The firm planned to spend the bank loans on buying new equipment for a new 12-inch factory.
Nanya Technology planned to make 30,000 12-inch wafers a month from the new fab by the second quarter of this year.
Minister orders safety check
Economic Affairs Minister Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) has ordered the state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) to conduct comprehensive safety checks at its oil refinery in Kaohsiung City following an explosion on Saturday night.
The explosion, caused by a leaking pipe, occurred in the refinery's vacuum gas oil unit. Two workers at the plant were slightly injured.
Chen said the CPC should carry out thorough safety inspections of the refinery's facilities and to repair or replace any faulty or outdated equipment.
He also instructed the company to call in outside experts to assist in the inspections and repair work if necessary.
Swiss insurer may expand
Zurich Financial Services AG is considering buying a Taiwanese insurer to expand in the greater China region, reversing a strategy of shrinking its operations in Taiwan.
Switzerland's largest insurer will review possible takeover targets among Taiwanese property insurance providers, Homer Kuo (郭鴻文), head of Zurich Financial's Taiwan branch, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
"Zurich Financial is committed to cultivating the Greater China region and Taiwan is an integral part. We will pass information of potential candidates on to our headquarters for evaluation," Kuo said, declining to identify targets.
The Zurich-based insurer sold its life insurance businesses in Taiwan to Far Glory Life Insurance Co (遠雄人壽) in 2004.
NT dollar inches up
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Forex Inc yesterday, rising NT$0.009 to close at NT$32.457.
A total of US$874 million changed hands during yesterday's trading.
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