TAIEX stages rebound
The TAIEX staged a technical rebound yesterday following sell-offs in the previous session, with buying focusing on bellwether tech stocks, dealers said.
However, turnover shrank as many investors stayed on the sidelines amid lingering concerns over the weakening US economy and the debt crisis in the eurozone, they said.
The index closed up 161.82 points, or 2.2 percent, at the day’s high of 7,529.01, off an early low of 7,428.70, on turnover of NT$91.49 billion (US$3.14 billion).
Chunghwa Picture’s sales up
Panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (華映) yesterday reported net sales of NT$5.17 billion last month, up 10 percent month-on-month, but down 22.2 percent year-on-year.
Net sales from its panel business units hit NT$4.88 billion last month, up 12 percent from July, but down 18.6 percent from the same month last year, according to a statement.
Of that, shipments of large-sized panels were up 9.7 percent month-on-month, but down 42.2 percent from last year.
Shipments of small and medium-sized panels climbed 22 percent from a month earlier and 26.9 percent from last year, the company said.
Chinatrust, Mega profits slide
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the nation’s third-largest financial service provider, yesterday posted a net profit of NT$1.21 billion last month, down 23.66 percent from one month earlier and 9.7 percent from a year ago, as the company set aside more loan loss reserves linked to loss-making ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the company said in a statement.
For the first eight months of the year, Chinatrust’s net earnings totaled NT$13.94 billion, or earnings of NT$1.33 per share, the statement said.
The firm said net income would have outpaced July’s figures without the NT$1.03 billion in bad loan provision.
Meanwhile, Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) posted a net profit of NT$1.34 billion last month, down 37.2 percent from one month earlier, but up 5.5 percent from a year ago, according to its stock exchange filing.
Cumulative net income for the first eight months of the year reached NT$12.92 billion, or NT$1.15 per share.
Taiwan at green tech show
Taiwan has doubled its presence at this year’s International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition and Conference in Malaysia, a four-day event that opened yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.
The nation is being represented this year by 33 exhibitors at 35 booths, compared with only 14 companies and booths last year, Deputy Representative to Malaysia Lin Ming-li (林明禮) said.
Trade delegation on tour
A Taiwanese delegation has concluded a trade promotion visit to Mexico and left for Nicaragua on Sunday to continue its 13-day Central America tour with the goal of finding new markets for Taiwan’s technology products.
Wang Chung-yu (王鍾渝), chairman of the Taipei-based Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA), and Arturo Mendicuti, chairman of Mexico City’s economic federation, presided over an investment conference on Sept. 1 where the two sides exchanged views.
After spending three days in Nicaragua, the delegation will head to Peru for a four-day visit.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, closing down NT$0.003 at NT$29.115 on turnover of US$771 million.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
The US said it plans to help build a first-of-its-kind industrial hub in the Philippines to boost production of inputs crucial to US supply chains. The 4,000-acre hub is intended to be “a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing” and “an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand,” the US Department of State said on Thursday. The project — touted as an “economic security zone” — would be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, a flagship economic project backed by the US and Japan on the main Philippine island. The project was also described as “the first artificial intelligence