TAIEX rises 0.15%
The TAIEX closed up 0.15 percent yesterday, with investors largely staying on the sidelines, dealers said.
The benchmark index rose 12.70 points to 8,541.64, after moving between 8,541.64 and 8,633.24, on turnover of NT$117.586 billion (US$3.95 billion).
A total of 1,813 stocks closed up, 2,201 finished down and 545 remained unchanged.
Elpida raises NT$4.2 billion
Elpida Memory Inc yesterday said it has raised NT$4.2 billion in a secondary listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange as the Japanese memory chip maker seeks alliances amid fierce competition.
The money will be used in Elpida’s development and production of cutting-edge 20 and 30 nanometer chips, company president and chief executive Yukio Sakamoto said at a news conference in Taipei, ahead of today’s listing in the form of Taiwan depositary receipts.
The market for DRAM is expected to recover from a long slump in the April to June quarter, with demand for mobile chips expected to surge with the growing sales of tablet PCs and smartphones, Sakamoto said.
Rexchip Electronics (瑞晶電子), a Taiwanese maker in which Elpida has a majority stake, will add mobile chips to its production lines in the second half this year, he said.
He added that Elpida’s output will also gain from its alliance with Powerchip Technology (力晶科技), which has suspended its own marketing efforts to become a subcontractor for the Japanese company.
Hon Hai sells unsecured bonds
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics, sold NT$6 billion of unsecured bonds due in 2016 priced at par to yield 1.47 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Hon Hai in December sold the first half of a NT$12 billion bond offering priced to yield 1.43 percent, the data show. The funds will be used to pay debt and boost working capital, the Taipei-based company said in a sale prospectus.
AUO subsidiaries to merge
AU Optronics Corp’s (AUO, 友達光電) two subsidiaries plan a merger, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 1, through a share swap designed to increase operational efficiency and competitiveness, the parent company said in a statement to stock exchange yesterday.
Every 2.25 shares in BriView Electronics Corp (景智電子) will be exchanged for one Darwin Precision Corp (達運精密) share, it said.
AUO owns 98.52 percent of BriView and 61.32 percent of Darwin, it said.
NPL levels drop
Taiwanese banks’ non-performing loans (NPL) dropped to a new low of 0.59 percent last month, from 0.61 percent in December, indicating an overall improvement in the quality of 37 local lenders’ assets, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
Total bad loans stood at NT$119.1 billion last month, falling NT$2.6 billion from the month-earlier level, the commission said.
None of the lenders had a bad loan ratio above 2 percent, it said.
Meanwhile, the coverage ratio, rose to 159.2 percent, gaining 1.13 percentage points from 158.07 percent one month earlier, the commission said.
NT dollar falls to six week low
The New Taiwan dollar weakened to more than a six-week low as the turmoil in Libya pushed up oil prices, raising concern global economic growth will slow.
The NT dollar declined 0.6 percent to NT$29.760 against its US counterpart as of 4pm, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The currency touched NT$29.801, the lowest level since Jan. 11.
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