China Steel unit buying Bamian
China Steel Global Trading Corp (中貿國際) plans to fully acquire Bamian Investments Pte for about NT$873 million (US$28.82 million), parent China Steel Corp (中鋼) said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Through the investment, China Steel will obtain 81.4 percent shares of steel maker Guangzhou Mayer Corp (廣州美亞), a Chinese subsidiary of Taiwanese steel pipe maker Mayer Steel Pipe Corp (美亞鋼管).
Separately, China Steel said it and four units plan to hire about 200 employees, the Greater Kaohsiung-based company said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. The new workers will start at the end of March.
Central bank issues CDs
The central bank issued NT$167.45 billion in certificates of deposit yesterday, less than the NT$174.35 billion that matured, it said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.
The bank sold 30-day certificates at 0.87 percent, 91-day at 0.93 percent and 182-day at 1.05 percent, according to its statement.
Liang promises communications
Taiwanese officials visiting Vietnam have pledged to continue to communicate with that nation’s government after learning about the problems faced by Taiwanese businesspeople operating there.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Francis Liang (梁國新) and Representative to Vietnam Huang Chih-peng made the promise during a meeting with expatriate businesspeople in Hanoi on Sunday.
They expressed concern about the problems cited by the businesspeople, including labor shortages and illegal strikes and pledged to communicate with the Vietnamese government to create a better environment for Taiwanese there.
Liang’s delegation arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday, where they visited Taiwanese enterprises, met with Vietnamese officials and held seminars with Taiwanese businesspeople.
Taiwan is the second-largest investor in Vietnam, with about US$23.38 billion invested in the country as of last month. Taiwanese investors began looking to Vietnam in 1988.
CPC tender set for Thursday
CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) issued a tender to buy West African crude for loading in January, the state-owned company said in a posting on its Web site. The tender will be awarded on Thursday, it said.
Walsin sells real estate
Walsin Lihwa Corp (華新麗華) sold real estate in Taipei for NT$778 million to Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽), it said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.
Kindom to sell secured bonds
Kindom Construction Co (冠德建設) plans to sell NT$3 billion of five-year domestic secured bonds to repay bank loans, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange yesterday.
UMC purchases total NT525m
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No.2 contract chipmaker, bought NT$525 million of equipment from Applied Materials South East from Oct. 18 through yesterday, it said in a stock exchange statement yesterday.
Taiwan Paiho signs loans
Taiwan Paiho Ltd (台灣百和) signed NT$1.3 billion of syndicated loans with Bank of Taiwan and seven other lenders, the bank said in a statement on its Web site yesterday.
The loans will be used to repay debts and replenish mid-term working capital, it said.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar depreciated against the US dollar yesterday, inching down NT$0.003 to close at NT$30.260. Turnover totaled US$422 million during the session.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased 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 snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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