■ Bank lending rises fast
Bank lending last month rose at its fastest monthly rate in more than five and a half years as record-low interest rates encouraged companies to tap credit lines to fund expansion. Lending by the nation's financial institutions rose 6.7 percent last month to NT$14.4 trillion (US$433.6 billion) from a year earlier, the central bank said on its Web site. The increase is the biggest since a 7.5-percent gain in July 1998. The central bank left the key interest rate at a record low on Friday because it sees low inflation risk and sluggish unemployment figures.
■ Bad loans auctioned
With eight institutions bidding, the Central Deposit Insurance Corp (中央存保) yesterday auctioned off to three asset management companies bad loans from the debt-ridden Chung Shing Bank (中興銀行). The face value of the loans totaled NT$51.17 billion and the average recovery rate was 24 percent. Lone Star Asia-Pacific Ltd, the biggest investor in distressed Asian debt, won a NT$17.1 billion tranche by bidding NT$3.8 billion, according to Central Deposit. FC Capital Management Co won bad loans whose face value was NT$1.38 billion by paying 2.84 billion. Taiwan Asset Management Corp (台灣金聯) won NT$20.1 billion worth of bad loans at a cost of NT$3.09 billion.
■ Itochu to buy chunk of Tingyi
Itochu Corp, a Japanese trading company, will buy about half of a distribution unit of Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (頂益控股), the biggest maker of instant noodles in China, said Tingyi chief financial officer Frank Lin (林清棠). Itochu will purchase 49.99 percent of Tingtong (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (頂通控股) from Tingyi for US$10 million, Lin said. Tingtong, set up in 1998, has operations in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Chongqing. The distribution venture will be the second formed between Itochu and Tingyi. In January, Itochu partnered with Asahi Breweries Ltd to buy half of a beverage venture owned by Tingyi. The latest venture will help Tingyi and Itochu tap a market worth an estimated US$32 billion a year in China, Lin said.
■ Asustek hires USB adviser
Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) hired Sharon Su (蘇豔雪), head of technology research at UBS Warburg Securities Ltd in Taiwan, as the company's strategic adviser, according to reports in the Chinese-language media. Su, who has worked for 10 years on technology research in Taiwan, has been chosen the nation's best analyst by Asiamoney magazine for the past three years. UBS Warburg had been paying Su about US$1.5 million a year, the report said. Su worked at ABN Amro Holding NV for seven years before UBS Warburg hired her in 2001. She worked at Nomura Securities Co for 18 months before joining ABN Amro.
■ NT Dollar Gains
The NT dollar gained 0.2 percent after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) agreed to an election recount and 500,000 opposition protesters who had rallied on Saturday dispersed peacefully. The currency rose NT$0.08 to close at NT$33.194 against the US dollar on turnover of US$718 million. The currency declined 0.1 percent last week. "The crowd in front of the Presidential Office has gone and the election dispute is expected to be resolved," said Tarsicio Tong, a currency trader at Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行). "The NT dollar is expected to extend the gain," Tong said.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has talked up the benefits of a weaker yen in a campaign speech, adopting a tone at odds with her finance ministry, which has refused to rule out any options to counter excessive foreign exchange volatility. Takaichi later softened her stance, saying she did not have a preference for the yen’s direction. “People say the weak yen is bad right now, but for export industries, it’s a major opportunity,” Takaichi said on Saturday at a rally for Liberal Democratic Party candidate Daishiro Yamagiwa in Kanagawa Prefecture ahead of a snap election on Sunday. “Whether it’s selling food or
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