TAIEX plunges to below 7,000
The local bourse fell below the crucial technical support level of about 7,000 points as concerns over the debt crisis in Europe were fanned by a warning from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s that it had put 15 out of 17 members in the eurozone under review for a possible downgrade, dealers said.
Selling, which focused on large-cap stocks in both high-tech and traditional economy sectors, also reflected cautious sentiment toward uncertainty over the domestic political situation ahead of the Jan. 14 presidential election, they said.
The TAIEX closed down 141.80 points, or 2 percent, at the day’s low of 6,956.28, off a high of 7,075.84, on turnover of NT$67.77 billion (US$2.24 billion).
PMI might be made public
The government might explore a pilot program for publishing the Taiwan purchasing managers’ index (PMI) with the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) in the second half of next year, Council for Economic Planning and Development Vice Chairman Hu Chung-ying (胡仲英) said yesterday.
The index, a gauge for overall business activities in the country, would cover the manufacturing and service industry separately.
“The PMI has its leading role, making it as important as the leading indicators in my view,” Hu told a media briefing.
Hu said after publishing the index for six months, the government and the institute would discuss whether the index should be officially and constantly released to the public.
South Korea fines HannStar
Flat-panel maker HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶) received a notice of an 871 million won (US$771,600) fine from the South Korean Fair Trade Commission, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
The fine does not have a material impact on business and finance of HannStar, it said. The South Korean commission announced in October it fined 10 companies in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan for antitrust after a probe into allegations of price-fixing.
Shin Kong eyes property sale
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽), a subsidiary of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控), might profit about NT$227 million from selling property in Taipei City to Franklin Templeton SinoAm Securities Investment Management Inc for NT$360 million, Shin Kong Financial said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.
Fubon opens first China office
Fubon Financial Holding Co’s (富邦金控) banking unit opened its first representative office in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, on Monday, marking the financial giant’s first presence in China.
Fubon Financial’s chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) said Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行) would be able to apply to upgrade its representative office in the region into a branch in a year, setting the framework for a comprehensive service network for Taiwanese businesspeople in China and Chinese customers there.
Taipei Fubon Bank president Jerry Harn (韓蔚廷) said the representative office would focus on marketing research and providing consulting services.
He said after the office is upgraded into a branch, it would join the lender’s other overseas branches in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and the US, to provide Taiwanese businesspeople the most convenient services.
NT dollar falls against US dollar
The New Taiwan dollar fell against its US counterpart yesterday, down NT$0.043 to close at NT$30.225.
Turnover totaled US$514 million during the trading session.
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