The board of Ta Chong Bank (大眾銀行) yesterday approved a proposal to raise NT$10 billion (US$311 million) by issuing corporate debt securities with a maturity of two and seven years, the bank said in a stock exchange filing.
The proceeds would be used to “improve the bank’s financial structure and expand its sources of capital,” the filing added.
James Chiou (邱正光), the bank’s executive vice president and spokesperson, said the debt securities would be denominated in New Taiwan dollars and the money raised would be used to expand the bank’s local businesses.
The bank has not yet finalized whether the debt would be senior or subordinate; that would depend on the preference of potential investors to be gauged during private placements, Chiou said.
Meanwhile, EnTie Commercial Bank (安泰銀行) yesterday said its shareholders had approved the distribution of NT$399 million in dividends for special stocks based on last year’s earnings of NT$73.54 million, or NT$0.04 per share, as the bank swung into profit after three consecutive years of losses.
The meeting also rubber-stamped the re-election of the bank’s board members, with the foreign buyout firm Longreach Group obtaining five seats on the lender’s nine-member board and one of the two supervisor seats.
In separate news, Taiwan Land Development Corp (台開) yesterday said it planned to establish a Xiamen-based trade subsidiary with initial capital of 15 million yuan (US$2.2 million).
The company plans to initially inject 2.25 million yuan into the subsidiary, Taiwan Land Development said in a separate filing.
The trade company is to provide construction-related consultation services, including energy-efficient construction as well as trade services, such as wholesale, imports and exports, the filing said.
Taiwan Land Development president Andy Lai (賴昭輝) said the subsidiary, which the firm expects to launch within two months, will also tap into the export businesses of Taiwanese agricultural projects.
Once the Xiamen outlet is launched, Lai said Taiwan Land Development plans to acquire an office building in the city for its own use.
Meanwhile, KPT Industries Ltd (寶徠建設), which mainly focuses on the manufacture and sale of ceramic tiles, said yesterday that its annual shareholders’ meeting finalized a proposal to cut its capital by NT$448.75 million, or 47 percent.
After the capital reduction, the company would have NT$500 million in working capital, Jhunan, Miaoli County-based KPT said in an exchange filing.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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