Bourse gains as debt fears ease
The TAIEX closed higher yesterday before technical hurdles near the 8,700 mark eroded early gains that resulted from eased concerns over the debt problems in the eurozone, dealers said.
The TAIEX rose 23.42 points or 0.27 percent to 8,621.04, after moving between 8,598.08 and 8,679.37, on turnover of NT$100.20 billion (US$3.48 billion).
The financial sector scored the highest gains, finishing up 1.01 percent on hopes that the central bank will raise its key interest rates again at the end of this month to widen an interest rate spread.
CAL will pay disputed US fine
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) said yesterday it would pay an US$80,000 fine imposed by the US government, even though it denied US charges of “deceptive advertising of airfares.”
The US Department of Transportation said in a statement on Tuesday that it decided to impose the penalty after it found the carrier’s homepage downplayed additional taxes and fees customers would face when buying tickets.
The department said the practice contravened its rules prohibiting deceptive advertising of airfares because “consumers did not learn of the full amount they would pay until just prior to purchasing the fare.”
“The charge is not true, we didn’t cheat our customers. Taiwan and the United States simply have different ways of providing information in advertisements,” said Jessica Pan (潘文琮), CAL’s public relations manager.
Pan said CAL has no intention of changing the advertising elsewhere in the world.
“The same airfare advertisement has never been challenged before, but we respect the department’s rules,” Pan said.
ASE board backs bond sale
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc’s (ASE, 日月光半導體) board has approved plans to sell up to NT$8 billion of five-year secured corporate bonds, the world’s biggest chip packager said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
ASE said the debt would have an annual fixed interest rate not exceeding 2 percent, adding that the funds will be used to pay short-term debt and improve its financial structure.
Tatung, Japanese ink MOU
Tatung Co (大同), a home appliances household brand, yesterday inked a memorandum of understanding with Meidensha Corp and Moritani & Co on photovoltaic inverter production and sales in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese company said in a statement that it planned to start producing 250 kilowatt photovoltaic inverters by the end of the year. Tatung and the two Japanese companies also plan to jointly develop markets for large inverters in Taiwan, China, India and Southeastern Asia, the statement said.
Chunghwa Telecom wins titles
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s biggest telecom operator, said yesterday it was ranked as one of Asia’s Best Managed Companies by FinanceAsia, a financial publisher.
Chunghwa has been selected by 300 investors and financial analysts for the 11th annual poll of Asia’s Top Companies.
The company won titles in five categories: Best Managed Company, Best Corporate Governance, Best Investor Relations, Best Corporate Social Responsibility and Most Committed to a Strong Dividend Policy in the Taiwan area.
NT dollar strengthens
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US currency yesterday, adding NT$0.07 to close at NT$28.879. Turnover totaled US$806 million during the trading session.
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ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to