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Shares close down 1.09%

Taiwanese shares closed down 1.09 percent yesterday, in line with other regional markets and following a Wall Street fall at the end of last week, dealers said.

The TAIEX index fell 80.19 points to 7,256.95 on turnover of NT$94.23 billion (US$2.89 billion).

Losers led gainers by 1,678 to 698 with 162 stocks unchanged.

The market opened flat, but selling followed and accelerated throughout the session with electronics and financials in focus as investors took advantage of recent strong gains, dealers said.

“The high-tech sector was faced with pressure Friday amid concerns over earnings. The negative mood continued to dominate the market,” Concord Securities (康和證券) analyst Allen Lin said.

“It is possible for the market to test the nearest technical support at 7,200 points in the first half of this week on continued profit-taking,” Lin said.

“But as the market remains awash in funds, I do not expect any major correction anytime soon. The current consolidation is technically healthy,” he said.

Post official residence searched

District prosecutors yesterday searched the residence of a former official at the Directorate General of Posts who is suspected of leaking classified information to a technology company.

Cheng Cheng-nan (鄭征男), former deputy director of the government agency that in January 2003 was corporatized to become the state-run Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政), was questioned by Taipei District prosecutors yesterday.

In December 1999, the agency put up a public bid inviting companies to submit proposals and asking price for a project involving the establishment of an electronic postmail service.

Cheng is suspected of leaking information to a technology development company that allowed the company to win the tender.

PRC to vet IPO applications

Chinese regulators will review the first applications for initial public offerings (IPOs) on China’s planned small-company stock exchange this week as it moves closer to its launch, a government newspaper said yesterday.

The Growth Enterprise Board, to be located in Shenzhen, is meant to nurture private companies that struggle to get financing in a system that favors state enterprises. No date has been announced for trading to start but news reports say it could be as early as next month.

IPO applications from seven companies will be reviewed at a meeting on Thursday, the China Securities Journal said, citing an unnamed official.

The Chinese government received 108 applications for listing on the new board on July 26, the day it started accepting proposals.

CPC Corp plant closure delayed

State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) will shut its No. 3 naphtha-processing plant in Kaohsiung 10 days later than planned because of a delay in completing a new cooling tower, a company official said.

The refiner will shut the plant, known as a naphtha cracker, on Oct. 24 for regular maintenance instead of Oct. 14, said the official, who declined to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the media. The unit would be closed for 50 days, he said.

The firm needs the No. 3 cracker in service when the cooling tower is put online, the official said.

He did not expect the stoppage would affect customers, some of whom would conduct repairs during the period, the official said.

NT dollar loses ground

The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.004 to close at NT$32.668. A total of US$695 million changed hands during the day’s trading.
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