TAIEX sheds 29 points
Share prices closed lower yesterday, with the TAIEX moving down 29.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 7,749.66.
The local bourse opened at 7,817.59 and fluctuated between 7,818.84 and 7,749.4.
Turnover totaled NT$90.13 billion (US$2.84 billion). Foreign investors and Chinese qualified domestic institutional investors were net buyers of NT$2.75 billion in shares.
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,761 to 1,107, with 334 remaining unchanged.
Hua Nan fined for negligence
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday imposed a NT$2 million (US$62,800) fine on Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) for negligence.
One of the bank’s employees was found guilty of embezzling NT$800,000, while another faked his superior’s seal on internal documents, the commission said in a press statement yesterday.
The bank failed to report both incidents to the financial regulator, the statement said.
In other news, the commission approved an application by ACE Insurance (Taiwan) (安達保險) to transfer its local operations to the Taipei branch of Insurance Company of North America (ICNA, 安達北美洲).
The business transfer is scheduled to take effect on May 1, the commission said in another press statement.
Qisda share sale nets NT$1bn
Electronics maker Qisda Corp (佳世達) booked a gain of NT$1 billion from selling NT$1.95 billion of Darfon Electronics Corp (達方電子) shares, the Taoyuan-based Qisda said in an exchange filing yesterday.
Idle capital dips: central bank
The amount of capital from abroad sitting idle in Taiwan declined this year even as more money was transferred to the country, the central bank said yesterday.
Central bank Deputy Governor George Chou (周阿定) said there were still about NT$250 billion (US$7.9 billion) in cash from abroad that still have to be used for their stated purpose, down from NT$290 billion at the beginning of the year.
Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) in October expressed concern that foreigners had about NT$500 billion in NT-dollar-denominated accounts, five times more than policymakers considered acceptable.
ECCT talks of incentives
Aside from offering preferential tax treatment as a means of attracting investment, the government should formulate complementary measures, such as improved labor policies to let in more foreign workers, the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Other factors that foreign investors would consider include transparency in public policy-making and income taxes for professionals hired by foreign companies in Taiwan, the ECCT said.
The government should also publicize the various steps it is taking, apart from offering incentives, to attract foreign investment, said Steffan Huber, an ECCT director and president of Bayer Taiwan Co.
New Taiwan dollar closes flat
The New Taiwan dollar closed unchanged at NT$31.847 against its US counterpart yesterday, Taipei Forex Inc said.
The local currency earlier touched NT$31.727, the highest level since Feb. 6, but later retreated amid speculation that the central bank intervened in the last minute of trading to slow gains that could derail the nation’s exports.
Turnover was US$767 million, Taipei Forex Inc said.
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