TAIEX falls 0.3 percent
The TAIEX closed lower on a day of consolidation yesterday as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of first-quarter GDP data in the US, dealers said.
The latest move to tighten credit by China’s central bank also prompted more investors to sit out the session on the sidelines, they said.
The TAIEX fell 27.07 points or 0.30 percent to 9,006.61, after moving between 8,986.18 and 9,059.46, on turnover of NT$116.62 (US$4.05 billion).
“Investors have concerns over the US economy after the latest report on jobless benefit claims disappointed the market,” Concord Securities (康和證券) analyst Allen Lin said.
Lin said poor US GDP growth numbers may send ripples through Wall Street as well as financial markets around the globe.
“For Taiwan, consumption in the US is one of the pillars of its export growth. The GDP data is being closely watched,” he said.
Wal-Mart to buy Yihaodian stake
US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc has agreed to buy a minority stake in Chinese online grocery store Yihaodian (一號店), the two companies said yesterday.
“Online sales in China are growing rapidly and are projected to match US online sales in the next few years,” Wal-Mart Stores vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said in a statement. “By investing in Yihaodian, we’re continuing to establish a presence in this important e-commerce market and are moving forward on fulfilling our aspiration of being the leading global multichannel retailer.”
Yu Gang (于剛), president and co-founder of Shanghai-based Yihaodian, confirmed the deal was signed yesterday, but declined to provide further details.
Software piracy at record low
Taiwan’s software piracy rate fell 1 percentage point to a record low of 37 percent last year as a result of rising public awareness of intellectual property rights protection, according to a study released by the Business Software Alliance on Thursday.
The new study puts Taiwan among the three countries with the lowest piracy rates in Asia (excluding Australia and New Zealand), outperformed by only Japan, at 20 percent, and Singapore, at 34 percent.
Taiwan’s software piracy rate declined for the fifth consecutive year, the study said. Taiwan took 23rd place in the global ranking.
According to BSA, the average piracy rate in the Asia-Pacific region was around 60 percent, while the world average stood at 42 percent.
Incubator touts e-commerce
Taiwan is well-poised to cash in on the electronic commerce market based on its convenient logistics and product diversity, a Taipei-based startup incubator said.
“Some logistics services in Taiwan that support 24-hour delivery have become a great advantage for e-commerce development,” said Jamie Lin (林之晨), a founding partner of AppWorks Ventures.
“The quality of delivery is also better than the United States, which means fragile foods like puddings can be delivered safely,” he told an application forum in Taipei on Wednesday.
The trading value of Taiwan’s e-commerce market grew to NT$450 billion last year, an increase of 50 percent from 2009, according to Lin.
NT dollar up slightly
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.005 to close at NT$28.788 after the central bank’s intervention helped the greenback recoup some of its losses, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$829 million during the trading session.
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