TAIEX edges higher
Share prices closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX moving up 19.87 points, or 0.26 percent, to close at 7,597.62.
The local bourse opened at 7,649.62 and fluctuated between a high of 7,664.49 and a low of 7,592.66. Market turnover totaled NT$95.72 billion (US$2.99 billion).
Of the eight major stock categories, two gained ground. Cement shares rose 0.2 percent and machinery and electronics issues advanced 0.5 percent.
Foreign investors and Chinese qualified domestic institutional investors bought a net NT$4.09 billion in shares, after three days of selling.
Bank branch rules raised
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday raised the threshold for domestic banks applying for permission to open new branches.
The required non-performing loans ratio for domestic banks applying to open new outlets was changed to 1.5 percent from 2 percent, while the coverage ratio was raised to 80 percent from 50 percent, the commission said in a press statement.
Banks will also have to meet the requirement that the average of their before-tax return on equity in the three years before the application must be at least 150 percent higher than the average of the domestic banking sector, it added.
A total of 10 domestic banks and four credit cooperative units currently meet the revised requirements and may lodge applications to open new branches in May, a commission official said.
Development plan approved
The government has approved a land development plan around a planned station along the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT line, an official at the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday.
The ministry will begin to invite bids from developers for the land adjacent to the line’s Linkou stop in Taoyuan County in the third quarter of the year, said Hsieh Cheng-chang (謝正昌), chief of the Urban and Rural Planning Office of the ministry’s Construction and Planning Agency.
The agency said the development plan covered 226 hectares of land surrounding the A7 station of the MRT line, which is still under construction.
Under the plan, 66 hectares will be devoted to an industrial zone for green-energy and biotech companies.
Another 15 hectares will be designated for the construction of affordable residential apartments, and the remaining space will be devoted to public facilities, including schools and roads, Hsieh said.
The development plan is scheduled to be completed by 2013 as part of the construction of the MRT line, which will connect Taipei City and the airport and is set to begin commercial operations in 2014, Hsieh said.
NT nears three-week high
The New Taiwan dollar traded near its strongest level in almost three weeks yesterday on optimism improving ties with China will draw investors.
The currency advanced after a government official said on Monday that Taiwan and China would hold a second round of talks on a trade accord this month. The proposed pact is expected to reduce import tariffs between Taiwan and its largest trading partner.
“There is good news on the proposed trade pact with the mainland [China],” said Eric Hsing, a bond trader at First Securities Inc (第一金證券) in Taipei. “Taiwan dollar assets are doing well.”
The Taiwanese currency closed at NT$32.039 in Taipei, from NT$32.048 on Monday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. It reached NT$31.991, the strongest level since Feb. 10.
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