TAIEX passes 7,100 points
Share prices soared in expanded trade yesterday, with the TAIEX powering past the 7,100 point mark.
Financial stocks posted strong gains for the third consecutive trading session after the Financial Supervisory Commission announced that life insurance companies would be allowed to use part of their reserves to write down up to 50 percent of their foreign exchange losses, dealers said.
Led by the financial sector, interest spread across the board as many investors resumed buying, taking advantage of low valuations in both old-economy and high-tech sectors, which had been hard hit by European debt concerns recently, dealers said.
The weighted index closed up 144.38 points, or 2.07 percent, at 7,110.73. Turnover totaled NT$92.84 billion (US$3.07 billion) during the session.
AUO appoints new president
AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電), the nation’s No. 2 LCD panelmaker, yesterday promoted vice president Paul Peng (彭雙浪) to the position of president, ahead of Chen Lai-juh (陳來助).
Chen, AUO vice chairman Chen Hsuan-bin (陳炫彬) and vice president Hui Hsiung (熊暉) have been barred from leaving the US by a US district in California after appearing in a price-fixing trial in July of last year.
Chen Lai-juh was appointed president of the firm’s solar business group, AUO said, after its board approved the shake-up yesterday. The new appointments will take effect on Jan. 1.
CAL approves funding plan
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), Taiwan’s largest air carrier, said yesterday that its board had approved a plan to raise NT$6.67 billion (US$220.16 million) in funding through the issuance of 56.84 million common shares.
The proceeds will be used to purchase new Airbus A350 aircraft and repay bank loans to improve the firm’s liability ratio, the company said.
The offering price was NT$11.73 per share, while the base date for effecting stock options was Jan. 15, CAL stock exchange filing data showed.
Fubon gets Da Nang approval
Fubon Insurance Vietnam Co received Hanoi’s approval for the establishment of a branch in Da Nang, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation’s No. 2 financial service provider, said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Eslite to open HK store
Eslite Corp (誠品), which operates the Eslite bookstore chain in Taiwan, said yesterday that it planned to open its first overseas outlet in Hong Kong in the second half of next year.
Eslite said the new 4,000m2 store would be located in Causeway Bay, one of Hong Kong’s most popular shopping areas.
The company said that with ties in the greater China region growing closer, it was an opportune time for Eslite to establish a presence in Hong Kong.
NT dollar up against greenback
The New Taiwan dollar rose against the US dollar yesterday, up NT$0.029 to close at NT$30.296, with demand for the local currency boosted by a rally in the domestic stock market, dealers said.
Encouraged by better-than--expected US job data, traders appeared more willing to take risks and moved their funds to equity markets in Asia after Wall Street’s gains overnight, they said.
Turnover totaled US$586 million during the trading session. Dealers said investor sentiment over the US economy improved after first-time jobless benefit claims in Thursday’s US job data were lower than expected, prompting traders to leave the US dollar as a safe haven and flock to equity markets.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
The National Stabilization Fund (NSF, 國安基金) is to continue supporting local shares, as uncertainties in international politics and the economy could affect Taiwanese industries’ global deployment and corporate profits, as well as affect stock movement and investor confidence, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement yesterday. The NT$500 billion (US$17.1 billion) fund would remain active in the stock market as the US’ tariff measures have not yet been fully finalized, which would drive international capital flows and global supply chain restructuring, the ministry said after the a meeting of the fund’s steering committee. Along with ongoing geopolitical risks and an unfavorable
MATCHING NEIGHBORS: Taiwan lacks leverage with the US and ‘we should not be optimistic until details are confirmed,’ the Third Wednesday Club’s Lin Por-fong said Taiwan must secure tariff terms from the US that are on par with those granted to key export rivals such as Japan and South Korea or risk ceding competitiveness in global markets, a leading industrialist said yesterday, as concerns mount over trade barriers and currency volatility. Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairman of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp (台灣玻璃) and head of the Third Wednesday Club (三三會) — an exclusive body for Taiwan’s top 100 business leaders — said that Taiwan cannot afford to be optimistic ahead of Washington’s release of “reciprocal” tariff rates. “Taiwan lacks bargaining leverage with the US and we should not
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