Shares edge higher
Taiwanese share prices closed slightly higher yesterday with the TAIEX index edging up 8.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,779.08.
The local bourse opened at 7,797.7 and fluctuated between a range of 7,803.27 and 7,736.7 during the day’s trading.
Market turnover totaled NT$85.35 billion (US$2.67 billion), down from the previous day’s NT$86.23 billion. Foreign investors and Chinese QDIIs were net buyers of NT$6.26 billion in shares.
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,436 to 1,357, with 386 remaining unchanged.
Legislature reviews AIG deal
American International Group Inc could learn the fate of the stalled US$2.2 billion sale of its Taiwan unit Nan Shan Life Insurance (南山人壽) as early as today, when the legislature reviews a report on the deal from the top financial regulator.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has set five conditions for the deal, including ensuring the buyers’ funding sources meet Taiwanese regulations, the report said yesterday.
“If lawmakers ask the regulator to go back and ‘further understand’ the deal tomorrow, that implies it could be rejected,” said an official of the Investment Commission, which oversees in-bound and out-bound investments.
The FSC will have the final say after lawmakers have given their views.
Compal receives US$120m loan
Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), the world’s biggest maker of notebook computers by shipments, received a US$120 million term loan that it will use for capital expenditure purposes, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Banks contributing to the three-year loan include DBS Group Holdings Ltd (星展集團), Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), Jih Sun International Bank (日盛銀行), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), Taipei Fubon Bank (台北富邦銀行) and Yuanta Commercial Bank (元大商業銀行), the data show.
Taipower to sell bonds
Taiwan Power Co (台電) is selling NT$12 billion of corporate bonds in four tranches in an auction, Clint Chou (周義岳), a spokesman for the state-run utility, said by telephone yesterday. The Taipei-based company will set interest rates for the debt — with maturities of three years, five years, seven years and 10 years — tomorrow, Chou said.
Powerchip boosts spending
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), Taiwan’s third-largest memory-chip maker, plans to spend between NT$10 billion and NT$11 billion on equipment this year after “almost zero” expenditure on facilities last year, Eric Tang (譚仲民), spokesman for the Hsinchu-based company said by telephone yesterday.
Powerchip saw its first quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of last year after reporting continual losses since the second quarter of 2007.
ANZ-RBS deal approved
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) said yesterday it received regulatory approvals that “pave the way” for it to complete the acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) businesses in Singapore and Taiwan.
In August, ANZ agreed to acquire RBS’s retail, wealth management, commercial and institutional banking businesses in six countries for US$550 million. The six countries are Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.003 to close at NT$31.847. Turnover was US$959 million.
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