Investors seek safe havens
The TAIEX closed up 0.29 percent yesterday amid ample liquidity as investors parked their funds in safe havens, such as property stocks, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 25.49 points to 8,782.20, after moving between 8,767.44 and 8,797.98, on turnover of NT$123.38 billion (US$4.13 billion).
The market opened up 0.16 percent higher and moved to the day’s high as investors expected a rising New Taiwan dollar to boost the value of assets owned by property developers, dealers said.
Meanwhile, bargain hunters picked up bellwether semiconductor shares on their relatively low valuations, they said.
A total of 2,343 stocks closed up and 1,819 were down, with 395 remaining unchanged.
Winbond approves expenditure
Winbond Electronics Corp’s (華邦電子) board approved NT$2.9 billion of capital expenditure for next year and an additional NT$936 million for 2012, the memory chipmaker said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
The funds are to be used to expand production capacity for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips using 46-nanometer technology and for flash memory chips using 58-nanometer technology, the Hsinchu-based firm said.
Volkswagen’s business booms
German car maker Volkswagen is enjoying a booming business in Taiwan, having reached its sales target for this year of 8,000 units at the beginning of this month, the firm’s local dealer said yesterday.
Taikoo Motors Ltd (太古汽車) said almost all of its 8,000 Volkswagen vehicles have been sold and it has orders for an additional 200 to be delivered by the end of the year.
Total annual sales of 8,200 units will be the highest on record in Taiwan for the German brand, Talkoo said.
The dealer said seven new Volkswagen models will be put on the Taiwan market next year in line with the car manufacturer’s cyclic remodeling policy.
Automobile industry analysts have estimated that total car sales in the local market will reach 300,000 units this year, up 23 percent year-on-year in a recovering economy.
Banks planning joint venture
Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) and BNP Paribas Investment Partners SA received approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission to form a securities investment trust venture yesterday, the commission said in a statement on its Web site.
The Taiwanese lender will hold a 51 percent stake and BNP Paribas the remainder in the NT$300 million venture, the statement said.
Acer executive resigns
Acer Inc (宏碁) president of Pan America Operations Rudi Schmid-leithner has resigned from the company and is to be replaced by Emmanuel Fromont on Jan. 1, the Taipei-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
Justin Liang rejoins Lenovo
China’s top PC brand, Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), yesterday appointed Justin Liang (梁百鋒) to head its operations in Taiwan.
Liang is returning to Lenovo after having worked as vice president of sales for Taiwan from 2005 to 2008. He later left to join Dell Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.
By assuming the post of Lenovo Taiwan’s president, Liang is expected to help the PC maker lift its market share and increase PC sales, a company statement said.
NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar fell against its US counterpart yesterday, down NT$0.045 to close at NT$30.545. Turnover totaled US$794 million.
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