TAIEX rises by 1.87%
The TAIEX rallied yesterday, led by a rebound in the bellwether electronics sector, as investors hoped the opening of Computex Taipei 2011, Taiwan’s largest computer fair, would increase buying interest in electronic goods, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 165.16 points, or 1.87 percent, to 8,988.84, after moving between 8,860.58 and 9,003.60. Turnover was NT$131.27 billion (US$4.58 billion) yesterday, up from NT$88.022 billion the previous session.
“Judging from the expanded turnover, I think more investors have become willing to buy amid improving market sentiment,” Mega Securities (兆豐證券) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said. “After recent consolidation, they simply hunted for bargains.”
Cathay rumor boosts President
Shares of President Securities Corp (統一證券) closed limit-up at NT$20.95 yesterday on speculation that Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) would buy into the securities company to boost its market share, dealers said.
Cathay Financial was up 3.09 percent to NT$46.65, while the broader market’s benchmark weighted index was up 1.87 percent.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that Cathay Financial was planning to acquire President Securities at NT$27.7 per share in a bid to increase Cathay Securities Corp’s (國泰證券) market share to 4.7 percent from the current 0.7 percent and become one of the top five securities firms in Taiwan.
President Securities denied it is in merger talks with Cathay Financial, according to a stock exchange filing, while Cathay Financial said in a separate filing that the report was purely media speculation.
Chipmakers partner on 3D IC
Japan-based memory chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc, Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) and Powertech Technology Inc (力成) said yesterday they have signed a deal to join forces in 3D integrated circuit technology development.
In a joint statement, the three companies said they will partner up to develop 3D IC integration technologies for advanced production technology, including the 28 nanometer process.
Before finalizing the development deal, the three partners have been working with each other in through silicon via (TSV) technology in Elpida’s Hiroshima plant.
The three partners said the cooperation is also expected to boost cost competitiveness, improve logic yields and accelerate the pace to enter into the 3D IC market.
DelSolar withdraws application
DelSolar Co (旺能光電), a Taiwan-based solar cell firm, said yesterday it has withdrawn an application for a listing on the Taiwan Stock Exchange on fears that a gloomy market outlook in the global solar energy sector will hamper its efforts to raise funds.
DelSolar, the solar energy unit of Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the world’s largest power switching system provider, said weakening demand for solar energy related products in the global market has dampened investor sentiment toward the sector.
The company said it would file a listing application again when the market improves.
DelSolar filed the listing application with the stock exchange in August.
A spokesperson for Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), another Taiwan solar cell manufacturer, said the industry remains haunted by oversupply and will not have a turnaround until 2013.
NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.058 to close at NT$28.772. Turnover totaled US$1.001 billion during the session.
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New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last