Shares close little changed
Taiwanese shares closed little changed yesterday as concerns over a global economic meltdown offset an interest rate cut by the central bank, dealers said.
The weighted index fell 2.06 points, or 0.04 percent, at 4,740.27 on turnover of NT$57.25 billion (US$1.75 billion).
The market opened lower amid lingering economic worries despite the surprise interest rate cut late on Sunday, and moved in a narrow range until the end of the session with many investors remaining on the sidelines, dealers said.
“The interest rate reduction simply echoed the global trend of falling funding costs to shore up economic growth,” Taiwan International Securities (金鼎證券) analyst Arch Shih (施博元) said.
“So, many investors remained reluctant to jump on the wagon before there was any sign of an economic recovery,” Shih said, referring to the lower daily turnover — compared with Friday’s NT$86.78 billion.
The bellwether electronics sector suffered relatively heavier pressure after last month’s trade data showed a year-on-year 8.3 percent decline in exports with electronics down 8.4 percent, dealers said.
TSMC revenues reach NT$28bn
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) revenues reached NT$28.371 billion last month, up slightly by 0.4 percent over the previous month, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said yesterday.
However, the figure marked a decline of 10.6 percent over the same month last year, company statements showed.
TSMC’s revenues for the first 10 months of this year hit NT$289.312 billion, marking a year-on-year increase of 13.7 percent.
The company’s combined revenues stood at NT$29.49 billion last month, up 0.6 percent over the previous month but down 9.6 percent year-on-year.
More than 7,000 SMEs close
More than 7,000 small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) have shut down in Taiwan in the past two years because of economic slowdown, a government agency said yesterday.
“At the end of 2006, there were 1.23 million small and medium-size enterprises in Taiwan. By the end of 2007, the number had dropped by more than 7,000,” Roscher Lin (林秉彬), chairman of the National Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (中小企業協會), said at a conference for small and medium-sized enterprises.
“But in the same period, large corporations increased by 1,600. So small and medium-sized enterprises are facing severe challenges and need government assistance,” he said.
Taxes reach NT$110bn
The national treasury collected NT$110.3 billion (US$3.35 billion) in tax revenues last month, down 14 percent, or NT$17.9 billion, from a year ago, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
The biggest drop was recorded in business tax income, which reported a decline of 365.6 percent, or NT$9.6 billion, to minus NT$12.3 billion from last year, said Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), the ministry’s Department of Statistics director, attributing the fall to tax returns.
Lin said securities transaction tax revenues also plunged 66.1 percent, or NT$8.3 billion, to NT$4.3 billion during the same period and blamed the fall to the ongoing financial storm that has jolted equity markets across the world.
Still, the government has garnered NT$1.537 trillion in tax revenues as of last month, or NT$30 billion more than targeted.
NT dollar rises slightly
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday advanced slightly by NT$0.001 to close at NT$32.823 against the US dollar on turnover of US$608 million.
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