Shares continue to climb
Taiwanese shares continued their winning streak yesterday, with the TAIEX index soaring past the 8,300-point level for the first time in about 19 months after surging 116.22 points, or 1.41 percent, to close at 8,327.62.
The local bourse opened high at 8,237.1 and traded between 8,327.87 and 8,216.32 during the session. A total of 6.42 billion shares changed hands on heavy market turnover of NT$186.97 billion (US$5.87 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 1,784 to 1,331, with 278 stocks remaining unchanged.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers of NT$10.66 billion in shares.
Shih Wei sells bonds
Shih Wei Navigation Co (四維航業), a Taiwanese provider of marine transportation, sold NT$450 million in zero coupon convertible bonds due to mature in 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The securities convert into stock at NT$46.2 a share, the data showed. Capital Securities Corp (群益證券), Industrial Bank of Taiwan Securities Co (台灣工銀證券) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) arranged the sale.
Brighton-Best secures loan
Brighton-Best International Inc (大成國際鋼鐵), a subsidiary of Ta Chen Stainless Pipe Co (大成不銹鋼工業), yesterday secured a three-year syndicated loan of NT$1.2 billion from 10 domestic banks, the loan’s leading bank — Industrial Bank of Taiwan (台灣工銀) — said in a press statement.
The banks, including Mega Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), Land Bank of Taiwan (土銀) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), had oversubscribed the loan by 165 percent, the statement said.
The loan will be used to find the subsidiary company’s operation and expansion plans to enhance outlets in the US and Europe, it said.
The company was founded in 2007 and acquired the US’ Brighton-Best in 2008. In spite of the recent economic slowdown, the company boasts a margin as high as 45 percent, the bank said.
Mercator Medical to expand
The Thai unit of Mercator Medical SA, a glove maker in Poland, plans to spend 1.4 billion baht (US$42.2 million) over the next five years to expand its plant in the southern province of Songkhla.
Annual production capacity at the plant will rise to 6 billion pieces after the expansion from a predicted 1.2 billion pieces this year, Arthur Bernard Capel, general manager of Mercator Medical (Thailand) Ltd, said by telephone from Songkhla.
Products will be supplied to Africa, Europe, China, Japan and Taiwan, he said.
HP unveils new line
Hewlett-Packard Co (HP), the world’s largest personal-computer maker, introduced updated notebook and desktop PC models, including the company’s first netbook with a touch-screen display.
The Mini 5102, starting at US$399, is a scaled-down notebook with a 10.1-inch screen that supports the company’s TouchSmart multitouch software, Hewlett-Packard said yesterday in a statement. It will be available later this month.
The company also updated its other Mini netbooks, with prices starting at US$299, and added a new version of the HP TouchSmart, a US$949 portable device. It can convert from a regular notebook to a pen-controlled slate computer by swiveling the screen.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.015 to close at NT$31.875. A total of US$849 million changed hands.
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