TAIEX closes up slightly
Taiwan’s benchmark TAIEX closed up 0.64 percent yesterday as the high-tech sector followed the overnight strong gains posted by on Wall Street to lead the local upside, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 52.94 points to 8,349.99, after moving between 8,330.92 and 8,355.39, on turnover of NT$105.36 billion (US$3.46 billion).
A total of 2,318 stocks closed up and 1,500 down, while 370 remained unchanged.
CHTC, Vodafone join forces
Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHTC, 中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecom operator, yesterday said it was joining forces with British telecom company Vodafone to purchase data cards at lower prices for its subscribers.
This is the first cooperative deal between the two companies in purchasing telecom devices after they initiated talks in November last year.
Starting on Dec. 4, Chunghwa Telecom will launch data cards for users to connect to the Internet via laptops on the go.
Chunghwa Telecom also said that it had extended the coverage of its roaming service in collaboration with Vodafone to three more countries — Belgium, South Africa and Egypt. Originally, the service covered 15 European countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Solar cells makers make up
Local solar cell maker Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光能源) yesterday said it inked an agreement with Canadian solar module maker Day4 Energy Inc to supply high-performance solar cells for the whole of next year.
The deal would help fund Neo Solar’s future expansion, the Hsinchu-based company said in a filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. No financial terms were disclosed yesterday.
Separately, Epistar Corp (晶元光電) and Huga Optotech Inc (廣鎵光電) have decided to settle a patent infringement lawsuit, Epistar said yesterday.
In 2008, the Hsinchu-based company filed a suit against Huga Optotech for allegedly violating two patents, the chipmaker said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Singapore mulls investment
The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) and Temasek Holdings, another investment arm of the city-state, have expressed strong interest in investing in Taiwan, Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) said late on Wednesday.
Liu said that Temasek in particular is planning to send representatives in the near future to survey Taiwan’s business environment.
According to Liu, the Singaporean firms said that they had first needed to develop a better understanding of the economic environment in Taiwan. Liu has just returned from Singapore after meeting potential investors and promoting Taiwan as an ideal destination for foreign investors.
Ruentex to sell domestic bonds
The board of Ruentex Industries Ltd (潤泰) approved a plan to sell NT$4 billion of unsecured domestic bonds convertible to its shares, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. Proceeds from the five-year securities will be used to repay bank loans, according to the statement. Yuanta Securities Co (元大證券) will underwrite the bond sale.
NT flat against US dollar
The New Taiwan dollar surrendered gains in the last minute of trading on speculation that the central bank intervened to check appreciation that could hurt exports.
The NT dollar was unchanged at NT$30.80 versus the greenback as of the 4pm local close yesterday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The local currency has gained 4 percent this year.
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