Taiwanese shares rise slightly
Taiwanese shares closed up 0.28 percent yesterday after buying in large cap stocks reversed early losses on a Wall Street dive overnight, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 18.48 points to 6,737.29 on turnover of NT$187.08 billion (US$5.72 billion).
Gainers led losers by 1,174 to 1,000, with 141 stocks unchanged.
The market opened down 1.02 percent as investors took cues from heavy losses on Wall Street, while sentiment was also affected by the nation’s record 10.24 percent economic contraction for the first quarter, dealers said.
However, bargain hunters emerged to reverse the early downside as ample funds lent support to the broader market, they said.
Fuel prices to increase
Gasoline and diesel prices will increase by NT$0.1 and NT$0.2 per liter respectively today, state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) announced yesterday.
CPC’s price for a liter of 98-octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$28.3. The price of 95-octane unleaded gasoline will be NT$26.8, and 92-octane unleaded gasoline will cost NT$26.1 per liter, the companies said. Diesel will be priced at NT$23.4 per liter.
Chinese to invest in harbor
China Ocean Shipping Group Co (Cosco, 中遠集團) and China Merchants Group Ltd (招商局集團), both controlled by Beijing, are in talks to invest in Kaohsiung Harbor, Yang Ming Group (陽明集團) said.
The companies each want a 20 percent stake in Yang Ming’s container-terminal operations at the harbor, Yang Ming chairman Frank Lu (盧峰海) said yesterday.
Yang Ming, Taiwan’s second-biggest container-shipping line, last year won a NT$16.2 billion loan to build four container terminals at Kaohsiung Harbor. The company will run the terminals for 50 years under a build-operate-transfer deal with the government, it said.
Wintek files libel suit
Local mobile phone panel maker Wintek Corp (勝華) said yesterday it had filed a libel lawsuit against a member of an unspecified labor union, adding that the person had hurt the company’s reputation by spreading untrue allegations.
This was the latest in a slew of labor disputes between Wintek and its laid-off employees after the company cut 10 percent of its workforce in December.
After the firm reached agreement with laid-off employees last month that included a promise to rehire some senior workers and pregnant employees, the union member, who is not a Wintek employee, accused the company of illegal layoff and staged protests outside the Taipei offices of Wintek and Apple Inc’s Taipei office. Wintek supplies touch panels to Apple.
FSC signs deal with California
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of California’s Department of Financial Institutions last week to strengthen financial supervisory cooperation.
The memorandum states that both regulators will share financial information, provide assistance to on-site financial supervisors and hold regular meetings, the commission said.
The commission has signed similar memorandums with a total of 36 regulatory counterparts overseas, a commission statement said.
NT dollar continues to climb
The New Taiwan dollar continue gaining ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, edging up NT$0.059 to close at NT$32.679.
A total of US$1.348 billion changed hands during the day’s trading.
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