TAIEX down on profit-taking
The TAIEX closed down 0.68 percent yesterday as investors sold off high-tech stocks.
The weighted index finished down 53.26 points, or 0.68 percent, to 7,687.98 on turnover of NT$122.15 billion (US$4.13 billion).
Foreign exchange reserves up
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves totaled US$390.3 billion last month, up US$4.76 billion from a month earlier, the central bank said yesterday.
The euro and other major currencies appreciated in value against the greenback, causing foreign exchange reserves denominated in those currencies to be worth more in terms of the base currency — the US dollar — for last month, the central bank said in a statement.
Investment gains also helped increase Taiwan’s reserves last month, the statement said.
The market value of securities and deposits held by foreign investors at the end of last month reached US$205 billion, equivalent to 53 percent of the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, up from December’s 48 percent, the bank said.
Taiwan continues to have the world’s fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves, behind China, Japan and Russia.
Complaint filed against Altek
Local camera maker Altek Corp (華晶科技) yesterday said it had received notification that US rival Eastman Kodak filed a complaint against it in a US federal court in New York.
Altek said the complaint could be linked to a dispute about the payment of royalties to the US camera company based on a cross-licensing agreement signed by the two firms.
Adimmune closer to listing
Adimmune Corp (國光生技), a local vaccine manufacturer, could be listed on the stock market by next month at the earliest, a company official said yesterday.
Adimmune chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) made the remarks after the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp approved its application.
The company also said that it had made progress in its research, including the completion of the clinical testing of an influenza vaccine in Europe with Netherlands-based Crucell, with which Adimmune has an alliance.
The manufacturer’s H5N1 vaccine, which completed animal testing late last year, is scheduled to begin human testing in the second quarter of this year at the earliest.
In addition, construction of the company’s cell culture plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park is expected to be completed in 2014, with production scheduled to begin in 2015.
Naphtha purchase made
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) has bought about 100,000 tonnes of naphtha for delivery to plants in Mailiao (麥寮), according to two traders who have knowledge of the market.
The cargo was purchased at a premium of US$4 to US$5 a tonne above Japan benchmark prices, the traders said.
NT dollar retreats
The New Taiwan dollar retreated from its strongest level in almost five months on speculation that importers bought the US currency to take advantage of a more favorable exchange rate.
The local dollar rallied 1.6 percent last week as overseas investors bought US$1.1 billion more Taiwanese stocks than they sold, taking net purchases for the year to US$2.1 billion, according to exchange data.
The NT dollar weakened 0.3 percent to NT$29.60 against its US counterpart, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
Turnover was US$683 million.
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