The Taiwan Development Fund (
The fund, which holds an 11.5 percent stake in the world's biggest made-to-order chipmaker, delayed the sale after TSMC's American depositary receipts fell 28 percent in four days of trading since the Sept. 11 attacks in the US. Yesterday, TSMC fell 5.5 percent to US$9.03.
"I don't think anyone would want to buy stocks or invest money in this uncertain environment," said Lloyd Tsai, who manages NT$2.7 billion at Invesco Taiwan Ltd (
"There's no buying pressure, and excess selling pressure on TSMC right now," he said.
Companies around the world have canceled sales of more than $20 billion of equity and debt. Investors are waiting to see how the US will respond to the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York.
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), the second-biggest computer memory chipmaker, may delay a sale of NT$8 billion of shares to fund a new chip plant. Rival Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體) put a share sale on hold and instead may borrow US$250 million to build a new plant.
The fund, which invests mainly in technology companies, planned to raise at least US$240 million through the sale of 20 million TSMC shares to help plug a NT$195 billion government deficit. The sale would fetch US$181 million at TSMC's current price.
"TSMC's price isn't so attractive after the terrorist attacks," said Fanny Hsiao, an associate at the Taiwan Development Fund. "We decided to withdraw the application if we couldn't reach US$12."
In June, the fund raised US$291 million selling TSMC shares in the US. Merrill Lynch & Co managed the sale. The fund hasn't decided who will manage the sale when it proceeds.
"When we decide to sell, we'll invite investment banks to propose a price, and we'll choose the bank with the highest price," Hsiao said.
The fund filed the sale application with Taiwan's Securities and Futures Commission at the beginning of September. Barits Securities Corp (
TSMC shares have fallen 38 percent in the past year, compared with a 48 percent fall in the main TWSE Index.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique