TAIEX edges up 0.12 percent
Share prices closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX moving up 9.14 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 7,436.1.
The local bourse opened at 7,451.17 and fluctuated between a high of 7,479.28 and a low of 7,383.68. Market turnover totaled NT$80.46 billion (US$2.5 billion).
Of the eight major stock categories, five gained ground. Construction led advancers, rising 1.9 percent, followed by pulp and paper, which climbed 0.6 percent.
Cement, plastics and financials all gained 0.5 percent.
Textiles remained unchanged, while food. machinery and electronics lost 0.2 percent.
Foreign investors and Chinese qualified domestic institutional investors (QDIIs) sold a net NT$1.52 billion in shares, the third consecutive day in which they sold more than they bought. For the week, they were net sellers of NT$11.52 billion in shares.
Taiwan-China trade surges
Bilateral trade between Taiwan and China last month jumped 143.4 percent from a year ago to US$12.4 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Taiwanese exports to its largest trading partner last month reached US$9.5 billion, up 157.5 percent, with electric machinery, optical products and plastic wares the three major export items, a statement on the ministry’s Web site said.
Meanwhile, Chinese exports to Taiwan rose 14.8 percent to US$2.9 billion. The top three items were electric machinery, machine tools and optical instruments, the statement read.
Fubon Life to buy CAL bonds
Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) plans to buy NT$1.5 billion (US$) in corporate bonds issued by China Airlines Ltd (華航) via private placement, parent company Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Morgan Stanley plan rejected
Global financial services provider Morgan Stanley has put on hold a plan to open a bank in Taiwan because of resistance from the government, which is focused on controlling risks in the wake of the global financial crisis, a local newspaper said.
The Financial Supervisory Commission has rejected Morgan Stanley’s inquiry to operate a bank in Taiwan, the Chinese-language United Daily News quoted an anonymous commission official as saying on Wednesday.
Taiwanese rules state that qualified foreign banks must have global capital or assets that rank among the world’s top 500, among other requirements, the official said.
Morgan Stanley, which set up a branch in Taiwan in 1982, transformed itself from an investment bank to a bank holding company only last year, the official said, leaving it short of the requirements.
The report added that risk control has topped the commission’s main focus following the global financial meltdown, which restricts commercial banks from engaging in high-risk or highly complex financial products.
NT dollar advances
The New Taiwan dollar climbed 0.1 percent to close at NT$32.085 against the greenback yesterday, snapping a two-day loss as exporters converted overseas earnings to settle month-end bills.
The currency appreciated for the week after a government report yesterday showed export orders, indicative of shipments in the next one to three months, rose at a record pace last month.
“Exporters are selling US dollars before the end of the month,” said Henry Lin, a currency trader at Taiwan Shin Kong Commercial Bank (新光銀行) in Taipei. “Risk aversion has eased.”
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