TAIEX ends day flat
Share prices closed flat yesterday, ending seven consecutive sessions of gains as sentiment was hit by a record-high jobless rate, dealers said.
The TAIEX index fell 4.44 points, or 0.06 percent, to 6,980.88 on turnover of NT$127.92 billion (US$4 billion).
Decliners led risers 1,336 to 903, with 188 stocks unchanged.
Investor confidence was dampened after the government announced on Wednesday that last month’s unemployment hit a new record high of 5.94 percent, with 647,000 people out of work.
Andrew Teng (鄧安瀾), assistant vice president of Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券), added that investors were looking cautiously to upcoming earnings results for guidance.
Taipower expects declines
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) expects its natural gas consumption to decline 15 percent and oil use to drop 44 percent this year because of falling electricity sales caused by the recession.
The state-run utility will probably burn 4.22 million tonnes of natural gas, compared with 4.97 million tonnes last year, spokeswoman and chief engineer Tu Yueh-yuan (杜悅元) said by telephone yesterday. Fuel oil consumption may fall to 1.46 million kiloliters (9.18 million barrels), from 2.63 million kiloliters yesterday, she said.
“Power use is sliding, causing fuel use to drop,” Tu said. The company’s electricity sales may fall 2.4 percent this year, she said.
TWSE eases listing rules
The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE, 台灣證交所) has decided to further relax conditions for first listings by overseas enterprises on Taiwan’s stock market.
The TWSE defines a first listing as one by a company that has not been listed on a stock market before and is registering with original shares for the first time.
Overseas enterprises, including foreign companies or companies with Taiwanese capital but based overseas, which have used Depository Receipts (DRs) to list on stock exchanges in the US, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo, among others, can expect to complete the application process within two months after submitting a first listing application with the TWSE, the exchange said. The application process usually takes six months.
The TWSE has set a target of obtaining 35 new listed companies this year. Last year, 31 companies listed for the first time on Taiwan’s stock market, though fewer than half were IPOs (initial public offering) and many had been trading their shares on the negotiated over-the-counter GRETAI Securities Market.
Korean importers to visit
A delegation of the Korea Importers Association (KOIMA) is scheduled to arrive in Taipei next week to hold procurement meetings with local manufacturers and suppliers, the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei (IEAT) said yesterday.
According to an IEAT official, the delegation is comprised of CEOs of more than 75 import companies dealing in metal, electronics, chemicals, dyestuffs for dyeing cloth, machine tools, household appliances, gifts and sporting goods.
The Korean importers will meet with Taiwanese exporters in about 200 face-to-face procurement consultations during their three-day stay in Taiwan, the official said.
More than 50 Taiwanese companies have registered to take part in the consultations.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.073 to close at NT$32.802. Turnover was US$602 million.
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