Shares close flat
Taiwanese shares closed flat yesterday after a technical rebound set in to recoup early losses following a Wall Street fall at the end of last week, dealers said. The weighted index fell 4.90 points, or 0.07 percent, to 7,335.18 on turnover of NT$84.5 billion (US$2.6 billion).
The market opened down 1.39 percent in reflection of a Wall Street dive amid concerns over the global economic recovery. However, as the market dropped toward the nearest support at 7,200 points, bargain-hunting emerged to offset early losses, dealers said.
“I suspect government funds stepped in to support the market in an attempt to cushion the impact from … Wall Street,” Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting (元大投顧) analyst Calvin Chen (陳程坤) said.
“The market has become technically unstable after a [4.04 percent] fall last week. It is possible for the bourse to fall and test 7,000 points in the short term,” he said. “A reduction of today’s turnover was evidence that many investors have embraced worries over further volatility and stayed sidelined.”
Chinatrust to sue AIG
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金) yesterday accused AIG, the parent company of Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽), of staging an unfair bidding process and trading irregularities after the US insurer decided to sell its local unit to the second-highest bidder, Primus Financial Holdings Ltd.
The financial services provider would take legal action and seek compensation, chief investment officer Daniel Wu (吳一揆) told reporters yesterday during the company’s quarterly investors’ conference.
Wu said the company was the highest bidder with what it claimed was a better offer to settle labor issues and a better expansion plan.
He accused AIG of violating international acquisition norms and failing to honor bidding rules.
Chinatrust yesterday reported NT$916 million (US$28.14) in net income for the first nine months of the year, or NT$0.01 per share, according to a press statement.
Fubon reports growth
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation’s second-largest listed financial services company, yesterday reported NT$14.71 billion (US$451.9 million) in net income for the first nine months of the year, or 44.6 percent growth from last year.
That represented earnings per share of NT$1.81, with a 0.79 percent return on assets and an 11.34 percent return on equity, the company said yesterday.
Following a robust stock rally, the financial services provider’s share investments have also returned to a profit of NT$17.37 billion as of September after incurring NT$18.32 billion in losses at the end of last year, the statement added.
In life-insurance businesses, Fubon Life Assurance Co (富邦人壽) yesterday posted NT$4.73 billion in net income for the third quarter, or 91.7 percent growth from the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the company’s asset management arm, Fubon Asset Management Co (富邦投信), yesterday said it was aiming to list two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong by the end of the year, president Henry Lin (林弘立) said.
Less tax to pay next year
Taiwan’s plan to reform the tax system means 5.2 million households will pay less tax from next year, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News said yesterday, without saying where it got the information.
The changes will reduce government tax receipts by NT$30 billion (US$921.6 million), with those on annual income of up to NT$500,000 reducing payments by 31 percent.
NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday weakened by NT$0.018 to close at NT$32.553 against the greenback on turnover of US$666 million.
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