Recent stock market volatility has disrupted the plans of several domestic financial institutions to increase capital, with some seeing their shares fall below the initial set trading value.
China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽), one of the nation’s top five life insurers, yesterday lowered the convertible price for subordinated bonds issued in 2009 from NT$9.40 per share to NT$8.58, the company said in a stock exchange filing.
The company, which aims to tap China’s bancassurance market, posted a net profit of NT$2.63 billion (US$88.71 million) from January to June, more than double the level in the same period last year, translating into diluted earnings per share of NT$1.37, data showed.
Shares in China Life closed up 0.65 percent to NT$31.05 yesterday, lower than the TAIEX’s 2.17 percent gain, after rallying to NT$46.70 early last month.
The board of state-run First Financial Holding Co (第一金控) on Wednesday extended a deadline for its cash injection plan to Oct. 7, the company said in a separate stock exchange filing.
First Financial, the nation’s fifth-largest financial service provider, earlier set a price of NT$20.5 per share, higher than the closing value of NT$19.4 yesterday, after a 2.17 percent rebound from Wednesday. The company said the extension was necessary for share subscription payments after financial shares tumbled amid worries over the eurozone debt crisis.
First Financial plans to raise NT$16.4 billion in new capital to strengthen asset quality and help its banking subsidiary, First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), expand in China.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
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