CPC lowers fuel prices
Domestic gasoline and diesel prices will be lowered by NT$0.3 and NT$0.5 per liter respectively effective today, state-owned oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and its private rival, Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化), said yesterday.
The refineries’ 98-octane unleaded gasoline will cost NT$26.8, 95-octane unleaded gasoline will cost NT$25.3, 92-octane unleaded gasoline will cost NT$24.6 and diesel will cost NT$21.7 per liter.
VIA board approves reduction
Local chipset maker VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子) said its board approved a capital reduction proposal yesterday, cutting its capital by 60 percent to NT$5.17 billion from the current NT$12.92 billion (US$384 million).
VIA reported an NT$40.2 billion loss, or NT$3.11 per share, last year.
The company said it planned to buy back and cancel 774.9 million shares on the open market and expects the move to increase net value per share to NT$11.36.
The proposal will be subject to shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on June 19, the company said.
Faraday announces income
Local chip designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原科技) said yesterday its net income reached NT$59 million (US$1.75 million), or NT$0.17 in earnings per share, in the first quarter of the year, on revenue of NT$928 million.
“Reviewing the revenue by areas, the growth rate in China’s market has remarkably grown to 36 percent. From the application standpoint, revenues from multimedia and displays rose most significantly,” Faraday said in a statement.
The company’s gross margin was 46.7 percent in the first quarter, which Faraday said mainly benefited from the adjustment of its application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) product mix.
Looking to the second quarter, the Hsinchu-based company said ASIC business would keep up its growth momentum in communication, multimedia and display.
Airline staff take leave
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空), Hong Kong’s largest airline, said about 70 percent of its staff agreed to take unpaid leave.
About 14,000 employees at the carrier and its Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd (港龍航空) unit signed the agreement, Cathay Pacific said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The airline will extend the deadline for agreeing to take unpaid leave by 10 days to May 10, it said.
Employees were offered as much as four weeks leave, depending on seniority.
Uni-President to issue shares
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), Taiwan’s largest maker of packaged juice and instant noodles, said its board approved a sale plan of up to 250 million new shares, a company filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange said yesterday.
The company said it planned to raise the funds either domestically or though an issue of Global Depositary Receipts.
The share sale needs to be approved at the company’s general shareholders meeting on June 29, it said.
LCD maker to pay dividend
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), Taiwan’s largest liquid-crystal-display maker, proposed to pay a cash dividend of NT$0.30 per share and a stock dividend of 3 percent for last year, the company said in an exchange filing yesterday.
NT dollar continues rise
The New Taiwan dollar continued gaining ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.109 to close at NT$33.711. A total of US$798 million changed hands during the day’s trading.
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