Manila Cathay branch approved
The Philippine central bank has approved Cathay United Bank’s (國泰世華銀行) plan to upgrade its representative office to a full-service branch, making it the third foreign bank to benefit from a new law that has eased the entry of outside lenders.
The central bank’s policymaking board last week approved the application, according to Cathay Union, a subsidiary of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控).
The Philippine central bank said Cathay United is required to put up initial capital equivalent to 2.2 billion pesos (US$49.48 million), the minimum requirement for a commercial bank license with a single unit.
The Manila branch is expected to start operating in the third quarter of this year.
In December last year, Cathay United bought 20 percent of mid-sized Philippine lender Rizal Banking Commercial Corp for 17.92 billion pesos.
Cathay buys GlobalWafers stake
Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽) on Friday said it had acquired a 1.69 percent stake in GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓) as part of a financial investment.
It purchased 5.91 million GlobalWafers shares at NT$71.26 per share since Jan. 24 at a total cost of NT$421.4 million (US$13.49 million), the insurer’s parent company, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
GlobalWafers, a semiconductor spinoff of solar wafer maker Sino-American Silicon Products Inc (中美晶), mainly manufactures silicon-based semiconductors.
The company reported earnings per share of NT$3.07 last year. Its shares closed at NT$89.67 on Friday.
Nan Ya posts encouraging sales
Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), a unit of Formosa Plastics Group (FPG, 台塑集團), on Friday reported better-than-expected sales and earnings for the first quarter, as a recovery in demand and lower feedstock costs enabled the company to book strong margins from its petrochemical products such as ethylene glycol and bisphenol-A, as well as electronic materials, including printed-circuit boards.
Net income was NT$7.94 billion in the first quarter, or earnings per share of NT$1, with NT$79.53 billion in revenue, the company said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
Last quarter’s sales were 0.5 percent lower than the previous quarter, but earnings per share were higher than the NT$0.39 posted the previous quarter.
With healthy ethylene glycol and polyester inventory levels, along with limited new supply in the industry, Nan Ya is expected to sustain its profit growth this quarter, Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting Co (元大投顧) said in a note.
Chunghwa profit beats forecast
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) on Friday said that its net profit last quarter grew 2 percent from the previous year to NT$10.45 billion, or earnings per share of NT$1.35, as revenue from mobile value-added services continued to grow, while the decrease in mobile voice revenue slowed.
The nation’s largest telecom said its first-quarter results surpassed its forecast for earnings per share of NT$1.2.
Overall revenue from January through last month totaled NT$56.47 billion, up 2.6 percent from the same period last year, while operating profit was NT$11.78 billion, down 0.9 percent from the previous year, the company said in a statement.
Lion Travel results boost shares
Lion Travel Service Co Ltd (雄獅旅行社) shares on Friday hit their highest level since June last year, after sales in the first quarter rose 25.3 percent from the previous year to NT$4.29 billion.
The travel agency said sales for this quarter are expected to continue rising, benefiting from booming outbound travel business focused on the Japanese and European markets because of the weakness of the yen and euro.
Lion Travel shares closed 1.3 percent higher at NT$116.5 on Friday and at one point climbed to NT$117.5 — the highest in more than nine months — in the morning session, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
SinoPac Securities Investment Service Corp (永豐投顧) raised its price target on the stock to NT$127 from NT$110, saying Lion Travel could see earnings grow 22 percent year-on-year to NT$470 million this year, or earnings per share of NT$6.69, with sales rising 13 percent to NT$19.9 billion.
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