Taiwan's key stock index had its biggest gain in a month, led by Hua Nan Commercial Bank (
Hua Nan Bank's spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.
The TWSE Index surged 140.31, or 3.2 percent, to 4508.69, its biggest one-day gain in percentage terms since July 26.
Within the index, 431 stocks rose and 44 fell. Trade at NT$65.22 billion (US$1.89 billion) was 79 percent higher than yesterday's NT$36.46 billion.
"The only alternative for the big banks to improve their asset quality and increase their earnings is to set up a financial holding company and seek a foreign partner," said Nora Hou, a banking analyst at CLSA Global Emerging Markets in Taiwan.
Hua Nan Commercial Bank rose NT$1.10, or 6.6 percent, to NT$17.90 on speculation the bank may set up a financial holding company and get a foreign bank to invest in its business.
Other lenders also rose. China Development Industrial Bank (
First Commercial Bank (
Memory chipmakers slid after the spot price for their main product fell to less than a tenth of what it was a year ago, according to DRAM Exchange, a market place for memory chips.
The spot price for the 64-megabit DRAM chip is at US$0.77, down from about US$9 a year ago.
Mosel Vitelic Inc (
Winbond Electronics Corp (
Mobile phone makers rose on hopes demand for handsets will increase after Texas Instruments Inc said demand for its telecommunication semiconductor chips was rising.
Acer Communications & Multimedia Inc (
Cathay Life Insurance Ltd (
Taiwan's biggest life insurer began buying back 60 million shares, or 1.1 percent of its outstanding stock, at between NT$25 and NT$40 today. The buy back is scheduled to be complete on Oct. 10.
Silicon Integrated Systems Corp (矽統科技) rose NT$1.80, or 5.5 percent, to NT$34.70 after the chipset seller said in an e-mail to reporters that its Pentium 4 based chipset will be mass produced next month.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) rose NT$1.50, or 2.4 percent, to NT$64.50. The biggest made-to-order chipmaker's American depositary receipts rose US$0.63, or 5.1 percent, to US$12.88 yesterday.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2