TAIEX retreats 0.18 percent
Taiwanese share prices edged lower yesterday, with the weighted index losing 10.87 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 5,875.24, snapping three days of gains.
A total of 6.05 billion shares changed hands on turnover of NT$130.2 billion (US$3.9 billion).
Losers outnumbered gainers 1,252 to 916, with 141 stocks unchanged.
The TAIEX has risen sharply from a low of 4,242.61 points recorded on Jan. 20, making it the second-strongest market in the world, behind only the Shanghai stock market.
FSC fines Nan Shan Life
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday fined Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽) NT$3 million (US$88,7) for negligence and a lack of oversight.
The firm, a local subsidiary of the financially troubled American International Group Inc (AIG), was also banned from hiring new employees after several staffers were found to have used unfair practices when selling insurance policies.
Their supervisor was discharged from management duties, the FSC said, adding that the violation affected 96 victims.
Taiyo to buy stake in Hontai
Japan’s Taiyo Life Insurance Co plans to buy a 13.5 percent stake in Taiwan’s Hontai Life Insurance Co (宏泰人壽) for about NT$5 billion, or NT$13 to NT$14 per share, through a private placement, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported yesterday.
The newspaper said Taiyo and Hontai would announce the deal on Tuesday at the earliest, without citing sources.
Taiwan boutique opens
The nation’s largest trade promotion agency opened its first Taiwan-themed boutique and souvenir shop at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) yesterday, with the aim of advertising Taiwanese culture to the millions of foreign exhibitors and buyers that come to the country every year.
Each year TWTC attracts between 3 million and 4 million visitors, who come to Taiwan for various types of conventions, Walter Yeh (葉明水), executive vice president of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (外貿協會), said at an opening ceremony.
Yeh said the shop, called “taiwanlook,” would not only sell cultural and creative souvenirs, but would also occasionally launch limited edition products on different convention themes.
Recreation business booms
Business at the nation’s theme parks and resorts grew significantly in the first quarter of this year, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday, attributing the growth to the government’s consumer voucher program and other promotion efforts.
The latest statistics provided by 24 amusement parks and resorts showed that the number of visitors in the first quarter grew 26.2 percent from the same period last year, the bureau said.
A total of 2.23 million people visited these venues in the first quarter, generating revenues of NT$1.34 billion (US$39.66 million), up 12.2 percent from the same period last year, the data showed.
The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (九族文化村) in Nantou County, LeoFoo Village Theme Park (六福村) in Hsinchu County, Janfusun Fancy World (劍湖山世界) in Yunlin County, Window on China Theme Park (小人國) in Taoyuan County and Hualien Farglory Ocean Park (花蓮遠雄海洋公園) were the five most popular amusement parks, the bureau said.
NT dollar edges up
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.004 to close at NT$33.820. Turnover was US$522 million.
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