TAIEX drops 0.8 percent
The TAIEX closed down 0.8 percent yesterday, with heavy selling pressure on construction shares due to the government’s possible loan tightening moves.
The weighted index closed 70.61 points lower to 8,713.79 on turnover of NT$98.529 billion (US$3.35 billion).
Construction stocks posted the heaviest losses of the day, ending down 2.8 percent, after the central bank reportedly will decide to tighten loans for construction companies at a meeting later this month.
The continued fall was partially due to the government’s recent move to levy a luxury tax targeting speculative property investors, dealers said.
TSE head to woo Japanese
Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TSE, 台灣證交所) chairman Schive Chi (薛琦) will encourage more Japanese companies to list on the bourse when he visits Japan later this month, the exchange said yesterday.
Schive will inform Japanese company executives of the benefits of listing in Taiwan and the new developments in the local capital market, the exchange said.
Last month, memory chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc listed Taiwan depositary receipts (TDRs) on the stock exchange, becoming the first Japanese company to do so.
Debt burden increases
Every Taiwanese now carries NT$211,000 of national debt, according to Ministry of Finance statistics released yesterday.
The figure is derived by dividing the national debt by the population. The country has a total debt of NT$4,648.5 billion in long-term bonds of one year or more, plus NT$240 billion in short-term debt, while the current population stands at 23 million.
This was the fourth time the ministry has released national debt data based on a national debt clock that was mounted at its headquarters in December.
The central government debt increased by NT$70 billion from early last month, when the ministry last published the debt amount. On average, each Taiwanese’s debt burden has gone up by NT$3,000 since last month.
Kenda Rubber inks agreement
Kenda Rubber Industrial Co (建大輪胎) and Changhua County Government signed an agreement to develop a NT$10 billion science park that may create 1,500 jobs, the tire maker said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.
Kenda plans to build a new plant in the park, it said.
CDIB plans to buy into Eversol
China Development Industrial Bank’s (CDIB, 中華開發工銀) board approved a plan to buy up to 15 million common shares in Eversol Corp for no more than NT$495 million, Taipei-based parent China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) said in a statement to the the stock exchange yesterday.
TSMC details purchases
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, bought NT$2.43 billion of gear and facilities from four vendors, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.
The chipmaker bought NT$599 million of equipment from Applied Materials South East Asia Pacific Ltd, NT$630 million from Lam Research International Sarl, NT$530 million of gear from ASM American Inc and NT$666 million of facilities and engineering equipment from Ebara Corp, it said.
NT rises 0.1 percent
The New Taiwan dollar strengthened 0.1 percent to close at NT$29.426 versus the greenback, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
Turnover totaled US$763 million yesterday.
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