TAIEX rises 0.88 percent
The TAIEX closed up 0.88 percent yesterday, boosted by the strong performance of electronics and financial stocks, dealers said.
The weighted index rose 75.61 points to 8,685.47 on turnover of NT$120.33 billion (US$4.1 billion).
The rebound came as institutional investors continued to dump large cap stocks to lock in recent gains on the previous trading day.
A total of 2,342 stocks closed up and 1,959 down, while 349 remained unchanged.
The machinery and electronics sectors scored the highest gains, climbing 1.4 percent, and financial firms rose 0.8 percent.
EQT fund acquires GTV
EQT Partners AB said its EQT Greater China II Fund has acquired local firm Gala TV (GTV, 八大電視) with the television company’s chief executive officer Lin Poa-chuan (林柏川) as a co-investor, according to a statement by EQT yesterday.
Carina Chai, chief financial officer at EQT Partners Asia Ltd in Hong Kong, declined to give the value of the stake bought from MBK Partners Ltd.
Beldare looks to boost VW sales
The local distributor of Europe’s largest automaker, Volkswagen AG (VW), yesterday announced an aggressive sales goal for this year that is nearly 50 percent higher than the record number of vehicles it sold in the local market last year.
Beldare Motors Ltd plans to sell 12,000 vehicles nationwide this year after posting record sales of 8,388 units last year, Huang Chi-li (黃齊力), managing director of the firm, told reporters.
The company set the ambitious sales goal based on its bullish outlook for the nation’s economy.
Volkswagen will launch a total of 35 car models of various sizes nationwide this year, Huang said.
BOT board approves agreement
The board of the government-owned Bank of Taiwan (BOT, 台灣銀行) yesterday approved the plan to sign a cooperation agreement with China’s Bank of Nanjing (南京銀行) to help expand into the Chinese market, the domestic lender said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The bank, a subsidiary of Taiwan Financial Holdings Co (台灣金控), did not supply cooperation details. It still needs approval from the Financial Supervisory Commission before inking the agreement.
ProMOS denies debt talks
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技) isn’t in talks with Elpida Memory Inc on a merger or business integration, spokesman Ben Tseng (曾邦助) said by telephone yesterday, responding to a Yomiuri Shimbun report on Saturday.
There’s also no talks with the government or banks to forgive debt, Tseng said.
Hsinchu-based ProMOS is in talks with the government and creditor banks to forgive debt to meet requirements for business integration with Elpida, the Yomiuri reported, without saying where it got the information.
Central bank issues CDs
The central bank issued NT$492.2 billion in certificates of deposit yesterday, less than the NT$494.55 billion that matured, the monetary authority said on its Web site.
The central bank sold 30-day certificates at 0.74 percent, 91-day at 0.78 percent and 182-day at 0.88 percent, according to the central bank’s statement.
NT dollar drops NT$0.99
The New Taiwan dollar dropped against the US dollar yesterday, down NT$0.99 to close at NT$29.329 per US dollar as foreign investors continued selling off the local currency, dealers said.
Turnover totaled US$1.158 billion during the trading session.
The NT dollar opened at NT$29.250 and moved between NT$29.141 and NT$29.520 before the close.
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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