The central bank yesterday auctioned NT$100 billion (US$3.31 billion) in 364-day negotiable certificates of deposit (NCDs) at an average interest rate of 0.632 percent, marking the lowest level since September 2010, as the market remained awash in liquidity.
The average interest rate slid for a fourth month in a row and compares with 0.635 percent last month. The auction attracted bids for 2.85 times the amount on offer, lower than the 3.02 times recorded last month, bank data showed.
The central bank also reported that the nation’s foreign exchange reserves totaled US$406.61 billion as of the end of last month, down US$10 million from the record-high level recorded a month earlier.
The net outflow of foreign capital offset returns from the management of reserve assets, further dragging down foreign exchange reserves last month, the bank said in its monthly report.
The net outflow of foreign portfolio investors totaled US$2.96 billion last month, the bank said, citing data from the Financial Supervisory Commission.
The market value of securities investment and New Taiwan dollar deposits held by foreign portfolio investors at the end of last month reached US$228.5 billion, equivalent to 56 percent of foreign exchange reserves, the report said.
Taiwan remains the world’s fourth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves, behind China, Japan and Russia.
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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