TAIEX closes up 0.52 percent
The TAIEX yesterday closed up 42.92 points, or a meager 0.52 percent, at 8,323.82 on turnover of NT$153.814 billion (US$4.84 billion).
“After a strong showing in 2009, shares largely appear expensive. That’s why not many investors are willing to chase prices at the moment,” Mega Securities (兆豐證) analyst Alex Huang (黃國偉) said.
The steel sector remained attractive on rising product prices with Tung Ho Steel (東鋼) up 5.20 percent at NT$37.45 a piece.
Fund’s assets looking good
The National Development Fund’s (國發基金) assets have increased 17.6 times since it was formed 37 years ago, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.
The fund, set up to help local industries through direct investment and loans, had NT$375.8 billion (US$11.83 billion) as of the end of November compared with NT$21.33 billion in 1973, the statement said.
The fund — whose internal rate of return is 20.7 percent — has direct investments in 42 companies, including biotechnology, tourism and shipping, the council said.
Meanwhile, the council said the government would collaborate with the private sector to accelerate the pace of developing green technology by capitalizing on Taiwan’s development potential.
The council came up with the proposal after McKinsey & Co suggested that the US and China, as the top two largest energy users, importers and polluters, should jointly develop electric vehicles, concentrated photovoltaic (PV) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) devices, among other emerging green tech innovations in order to help curb global climate change.
McKinsey & Co predicted that if the US and China could respectively invest US$50 billion and US$28 billion by 2030 in developing electric cars, then by that time, the market share would account for 46 percent of the US vehicle market and 62 percent of the Chinese market.
That would result in a reduction of 18 percent in US oil imports and 16 percent in Chinese oil imports, the firm said.
Taiwanese makers of electric vehicle parts have been tapping into the global market, while the electric vehicle sector has been listed by the government as one of six emerging industries for priority development, the council said.
As the global concentrated PV industry grows, about 70 Taiwanese companies have invested in upstream, midstream and downstream chains, providing a complete supply chain and creating a niche for Taiwan, the council said.
The development of CCS technology in Taiwan is still in the early stages and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will form an alliance of CCS technology research and development aimed at developing technology locally and catching up with international progress on CCS, the council said.
Fubon unit to sell debentures
Fubon Financial Holding Co’s (富邦金控) banking unit plans to sell NT$4.65 billion (US$146 million) in subordinated debentures, a stock exchange filing said yesterday.
Proceeds will be used to help boost capital, Fubon Financial Holding said.
The first tranche of NT$2.25 billion in debt with a maturity of seven years will pay an annual interest of 2.2 percent, Fubon Financial said.
The remainder, with a maturity of 10 years, will pay 2.5 percent, it said.
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