Taiwanese shares fall
Taiwanese shares closed down 0.76 percent yesterday on profit-taking led by construction and select electronics stocks, dealers said.
The TAIEX index fell 51.35 points to 6,683.11 on turnover of NT$199.72 billion (US$6.24 billion).
Losers led gainers 1,551 to 662, with 100 stocks unchanged.
“Profit-taking set in today, particularly in construction and some electronics shares following recent sharp gains,” said Johnny Lee of President Securities (統一證券).
Cosmos board approves Lo
The board of Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行) has approved the nomination of Paul Lo (盧正昕) as its new president, replacing Jeffrey Hendren, who doubles as the bank’s acting chairman, its exchange filing said yesterday.
Upon a final approval from the financial regulator, Lo is expected to take office on June 15, the filing said.
Lo retired from the chairmanship at SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (建華金控) last May to shoulder responsibilities over the firm’s NT$10 billion in losses incurred from its investments in structured investment vehicles (SIVs).
Shin Kong to buy properties
The boards of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) and Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday approved a joint proposal to allocate another NT$20 billion into the life insurer’s budget to be used to acquire local properties.
After the new capital injection, the life insurer’s budget will total at NT$40 billion, or 10 percent of its total investments, up from the previous 8 percent, the companies’ press statement said.
The company is upbeat about properties in Taipei and will actively evaluate the possibilities of taking up commercial buildings in Neihu Science Park or the upscale Xinyi District, the statement said.
The life insurer, in addition, plans to turn its newly acquired 827-ping (2,730m²) plot of land in Neihu District, at a cost of NT$1.468 billion, into a luxury housing project, the statement said.
HTC to sell phones in China
HTC Corp (宏達電), the world’s first supplier of phones based on Google Inc’s Android platform, said it would begin selling a handset using the software in China next month.
The design and specifications of the phone will be similar to the company’s G2 handset, also known as HTC Magic, and it will be sold under the Dopod brand in China, Maggie Cheng (鄭雅蓮), a spokeswoman for Taoyuan-based HTC said by phone yesterday.
Consumer loans rise slightly
The central bank’s monthly data on consumer loans showed a milder increase last month from March, following a fall in the previous month.
Consumer loans rose NT$4.97 billion to NT$6.6 trillion, the central bank said yesterday in a statement.
But because of the impact of global economic slowdown, consumer loans were still NT$87.22 million, or 1.3 percent, lower than the NT$6.69 trillion a year earlier, central bank data showed.
But loans for construction dropped for a second straight month to NT$1.03 trillion last month, the bank said.
The NT$14.53 billion, or 1.4 percent, decline in construction loans — which mostly include loans to construction companies for housing projects and land development — last month from March came after a monthly decline of NT$14.37 billion, or 1.4 percent, in March.
NT dollar declines
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.034 to close at NT$32.66.
A total of US$756 million changed hands yesterday.
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