Share prices rebound
Share prices on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed 1.59 percent higher yesterday on a rebound led by semiconductor issues.
A strong rebound in the US stock market helped Taiwan’s shares reverse the decline of the three previous trading days, when the benchmark index fell nearly 265 points, analysts said.
The TAIEX rose 118.37 points yesterday to finish at 7,547.98. A total of 3.15 billion shares changed hands on market turnover of NT$91.5 billion (US$2.86 billion).
Foreign investors and Chinese Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDIIs) were net sellers of shares for the ninth consecutive session, selling NT$1.49 billion more in shares than they bought.
Gainers outnumbered losers 1,796 to 1,183, with 269 stocks remaining unchanged.
Flat-panel decision due soon
Taiwan may announce a decision to relax restrictions on flat-panel display makers investing in China over the next two weeks, a Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) official said yesterday.
“There is chance that the Cabinet will announce” the move before the Lunar New Year that begins Feb. 14, Woody Duh (杜紫軍), head of the Industrial Development Bureau, said.
The government expects to begin briefing lawmakers on a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement with China next month, Duh said.
Lithium fuel cell R&D boosted
The government has increased its annual budget for assisting research and development institutes in the development of lithium fuel cells as part of efforts to promote the development of the electric vehicle industry.
The budget was increased from last year’s NT$120 million to NT$160 million this year, Council for Economic Planning and Development officials said yesterday.
Electric automobiles carry high price tags because of the expensive batteries they require and this has become a major factor in the low popularity of green vehicles.
The council said the cost of the batteries alone accounts for nearly 50 percent of the cost of making an electric car.
Last year, Japan introduced fuel cell-leasing services in an attempt to reduce the cost to the public of electric vehicles, the council said, adding that local businesses could adopt a similar model.
Costco to invest NT$30bn
Costco Wholesale Corp., the biggest US warehouse club, plans to invest NT$30 billion in Taiwan to build a distribution center and add stores, a MOEA official said.
Costco will spend NT$1 billion on a distribution center at Dayuan (大園), Taoyuan County, near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, said an official at the ministry’s Economics Affairs’ inbound investment division.
Costco plans 20 new stores, including in Tainan and Kaohsiung, he said, declining to specify a time period for the investment.
Costco opened the first of its six stores in Taiwan in 1997.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar strengthened for a second day as gains in US home sales and a rally in regional equities bolstered investor appetite for riskier emerging-market assets.
The NT dollar climbed 0.2 percent to NT$32 against its US counterpart as of the 4pm close, Taipei Forex Inc said. The currency touched NT$32.101 on Tuesday, matching the weakest level since Dec. 31.
The currency may strengthen to NT$31.8 by the end of next month, said Tim Condon, head of Asia research at ING Groep NV in Singapore.
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