Electronics sector lifts TAIEX
The TAIEX edged higher yesterday, led by surges in large-cap electronics stocks such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密).
The weighted index ranged between a high of 7,165.86 and a low of 7,107.78, before finishing up 23.7 points, or 0.33 percent, at 7,159.75 on turnover of NT$60.65 billion (US$2.09 billion).
A total of 2,069 stocks closed up, 1,950 finished down and 591 remained unchanged. Most of the market’s eight major stock categories closed up, with textile shares scoring the highest gains, finishing up 1.02 percent.
HTC hopes for US-led recovery
HTC Corp (宏達電) yesterday unveiled its latest smartphone — the Droid DNA — that will spearhead its campaign to regain market share in the highly competitive US market.
The Droid DNA, which features a super-sharp display and high-speed 4G LTE Internet access, will serve as the company’s leading smartphone for the holiday shopping season in the US, HTC said in a statement.
HTC said it is collaborating with US mobile network operator Verizon Wireless in launching the Droid DNA, with pre-orders starting on Tuesday and the phone expected to be available in retail stores from Nov. 21.
The Droid DNA comes equipped with a 5-inch display capable of displaying 1080p video and has the sharpest resolution of any smartphone screen on the market, the company said.
Taiwanese firms in Saudi expo
A group of Taiwanese building materials manufacturers participated in an exhibition in Saudi Arabia with the aim of finding thousands of buyers in the lucrative market, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said on Tuesday.
The 21 companies are seeking an estimated 20,000 buyers for consumer metal products, building materials and bathware in the Middle Eastern country, which has a housing market valued at US$67 billion, said TAITRA, which organized the delegation to Saudi Build 2012, which ran from Sunday until yesterday.
Taiwan’s metal product exports to Saudi Arabia last year were valued at US$32.5 million, 14 percent of its total exports to the Middle Eastern country, customs data showed.
The figure represented a 16 percent increase from the US$28 million in exports to Saudi Arabia in 2010, the data showed.
Hon Hai in Indonesian talks
Senior Indonesian economic and trade affairs officials will visit Taiwan next month for a meeting with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) to discuss an investment project, an Indonesian industrial estate developer said yesterday.
During their stay in Taiwan, the officials will talk with Gou about his plans to build a mobile phone factory in Indonesia, said S.D. Darmono, president director of the publicly listed developer Jababeka, in an interview.
The Indonesian officials will try to determine what government support Hon Hai needs to make the investment, Darmono said.
Hon Hai is looking at setting up the factory in a suburban area of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, and plans to start operations by the end of the year.
However, the project seems to have encountered some hurdles.
Muhamad Chatib Basri, chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, said last week that negotiations on the investment project were still in progress.
NT dollar up against US dollar
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, edging up NT$0.004 to close at NT$29.125.
Turnover totaled US$534 million during the trading session.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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