TAIEX steady on thin trade
The TAIEX traded within a narrow range yesterday as many investors stayed on the sidelines, keeping turnover thin amid concerns of a possible technical pullback after the recent strong showing, dealers said.
Gains were limited by the end of the session amid fears that the government would impose a tax on stock income and continued concern over possible hikes in domestic electricity and gasoline prices, which would impact the economy, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 8.61 points, or 0.11 percent, at 8,038.07, after moving between 8,013.85 and 8,085.43, on turnover of NT$86.62 billion (US$2.93 billion).
Chailease to sell yuan bonds
Chailease Finance Co (中租迪和), a Taipei-based leasing company, was yesterday seeking to price its “Dim Sum” bond, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The notes would be priced to yield about 5 percent, the person said, asking not to be identified because the details are private.
Kevin Liao (廖英智), a Taipei-based spokesman for the company, confirmed that Chailease is selling bonds and said the issue was already oversubscribed.
FPC to restart residual unit
Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPC, 台塑石化) plans to restart a residual fuel unit early next month that has been shut for more than a year after a fire.
The No. 2 residual desulfurization unit has been repaired and the company is waiting for the Yunlin County Government’s approval to start the plant, chairman Chen Bao-lang (陳寶郎) said yesterday.
“We are ready,” he said.
Resumption of operations at the plant may help the company cut costs by using more sour crude or grades with higher sulfur content.
The unit, which removes sulfur from residual fuel, was damaged in a blaze in July 2010.
The closure of the plant prompted Formosa Petrochemical to use sweet, or low-sulfur, crude for as much as 20 percent of its consumption, spokesman Lin Keh-yen (林克彥) said.
FPG mill to open in May
Formosa Plastics Group’s (FPG, 台塑集團) planned stainless steel mill in China’s Fujian Province is expected to begin operations in May and start production in September, FPG vice chairwoman Susan Wang (王瑞華) said on Tuesday.
Wang said the Fujian investment is divided into three areas, including a PVC processing factory, a hospital and the Fuxin stainless steel mill.
The Fuxin factory would be FPG’s base for the Taiwanese market and southeast China, she said.
Strong growth for PCBs
Taiwan’s printed circuit board (PCB) industry is expected to grow faster than the global PCB industry’s estimated rate of 6.5 percent this year, driven by huge demand for smartphones, tablets and cloud-computing services, Simon Chen (陳正雄), chairman of the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (台灣電路板協會), said on Tuesday.
Taiwan overtook Japan as the biggest manufacturer of PCBs last year, as Japanese producers were affected by the earthquake and tsunami in March last year, as well as the floods in Thailand, Chen told a press conference in Taipei.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar yesterday, adding NT$0.014 to close at NT$29.570.
Turnover totaled US$679 million during yesterday’s trading session.
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