TAIEX closes higher
Share prices closed higher yesterday, with the TAIEX moving up 31.9 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 7,629.52.
The local bourse opened at 7,628.78 and fluctuated between a high of 7,670.25 and a low of 7,604.86. Market turnover totaled NT$84.76 billion (US$2.65 billion).
Of the eight major stock categories, two lost ground. Food stocks lost 0.37 percent, and machinery and electronics issues dipped 0.09 percent.
Paper and pulp shares rose 1.61 percent, the most of any category. Banking and financial issues were up 1.58 percent, construction issues gained 1.5 percent, and plastic and chemical stocks rose 1.25 percent.
Cement shares advanced 1.12 percent and textile shares were up 0.7 percent.
Foreign investors and Chinese qualified domestic institutional investors bought a net NT$3.3 billion in shares.
Vanguard higher on order talk
Shares of Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (世界先進) rose the most in more than seven months in Taipei trading on speculation that its majority shareholder, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), may be farming out more orders, boosting Vanguard’s profit.
Vanguard rose 6.2 percent to close at NT$15.35, outpacing the TAIEX, which edged up 0.41 percent.
“There’s market talk that TSMC has too many orders, so they are transferring some orders to Vanguard as early as this month,” said Randy Chang, a trader at KGI Securities Co (凱基證券), via a telephone interview.
Both Vanguard and TSMC spokesmen weren’t immediately available for comments.
Officials to review taxes
Taxation Agency deputy director Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) said yesterday that the agency would call a meeting of local government heads on March 16 to discuss proposed adjustments on land value and housing taxes.
To curb housing price hikes in Taipei City, the Ministry of Finance said earlier last month that it would raise property taxes and land value taxes for high-end residences. The proposed tax hikes are estimated to bring in an additional NT$16 billion to the national coffers. The meeting will be presided over by Deputy Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和).
AUO to invest in China
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation’s largest maker of liquid-crystal-displays (LCD), plans to invest NT$1.2 billion (US$37.5 million) in a Chinese subsidiary to make and sell LCD panels in China, the Hsinchu, Taiwan-based company said in an exchange filing yesterday.
Meanwhile, the board of High-Tek Harness Enterprise Co (樺晟電子) approved plans to sell as many as 20 million shares in a private placement to fund expansion and bring in strategic investors, with the sale tentatively priced at NT$18.07 per share, it said in an exchange filing.
NT dollar rises to month-high
The New Taiwan dollar strengthened to its highest level in a month as Greece’s efforts to reduce its budget deficit bolstered demand for emerging-market assets.
The currency gained for a fourth day as the TAIEX surged to its highest level in more than a month.
“The New Taiwan dollar is stronger because the euro is appreciating,” said Juan Hao-yun, a foreign-exchange trader at Kingstown Bank (京城銀行) in Taipei.
The NT dollar rose to NT$31.96 — its highest level since Feb. 6 — before retreating to close up 0.1 percent at NT$32.004 against its US counterpart, Taipei Forex Inc said. The euro rose as much as 0.3 percent to US$1.3655.
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An Indian factory producing iPhone components resumed work yesterday after a fire that halted production — the third blaze to disrupt Apple Inc’s local supply chain since the start of last year. Local industrial behemoth Tata Group’s plant in Tamil Nadu, which was shut down by the unexplained fire on Saturday, is a key linchpin of Apple’s nascent supply chain in the country. A spokesperson for subsidiary Tata Electronics Pvt yesterday said that the company would restart work in “many areas of the facility today.” “We’ve been working diligently since Saturday to support our team and to identify the cause of the fire,”
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