M1B, M2 fall last month
Annual growth in the M1B and M2 money supply dropped last month, mainly due to a decrease in net foreign capital inflows and a higher base in the same period last year resulting from a more active stock market, the central bank said yesterday.
M1B, a narrow measure of the amount of money in circulation — including currency and passbook savings deposits — rose 8.14 percent from a year ago, the bank said in its monthly report. That compares with a 9.1 percent year-on-year increase in April.
The broader M2 monetary measurement — which includes M1B, time deposits, foreign currency deposits and mutual funds — increased 5.91 percent annually last month, also lower than the yearly increase of 6.24 percent in April.
In May last year, the government revised the capital gains tax on securities transactions, which was seen as benefiting investors and drove up the securities market, raising the comparison basis at the time, the central bank said.
For the first five months of the year, M1B’s and M2’s average annual growth rates were 8.93 percent and 5.92 percent respectively.
Construction index declines
The composite index in the construction sector fell from 83.5 points in April to to 78.04 last month, after the government imposed higher taxes on homes not lived in by their owners, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said yesterday.
The think tank said sentiment in the local property market has weakened amid fears that the government’s policy to cap housing prices will dampen buying interest.
In contrast, the manufacturing and service sectors continued showing signs of improving on the back of global economic recovery, with the manufacturing composite index rose to 103.86 points last month from April’s 101.82, while the month’s service composite index grew to 100.98 from 97.48, the institute said.
Chailease reports higher profits
Chailease Holding Co (中租控股), the nation’s top leasing services provider, yesterday said that its net income grew 3 percent month-on-month to NT$511.2 million (US$17.01 million) last month, with earnings per share at NT$0.51, as its loan operations and accounts receivable continue to grow.
Its cumulative earnings totaled NT$2.57 billion for the first five months of the year, up 7 percent from the same period last year for earnings of NT$2.58 per share, according to the company’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
FSC approves Yangon branches
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Tuesday approved three local banks’ applications to open branches in Myanmar.
The commission said in a statement that it had approved applications by First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行) and Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) to set up branches in Yangon — the country’s largest city — adding that this will allow them to capitalize on Myanmar’s recent opening up to foreign banks.
More than 60 foreign banks are waiting to set up branches in the Southeast Asian country, the commission said.
Synnex sets dividend payout
Synnex Technology International Corp (聯強), Asia’s largest distributor of information technology products and electronics components, yesterday said that its board had set the ex-dividend date for July 10, with payment due on Aug. 8.
The company has announced that it will distribute a cash dividend of NT$2.80 per share to shareholders based on last year’s net profit of NT$5.27 billion, or NT$3.32 per share, which represents a payout ratio of 84 percent.
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