Shares of vehicle financing company Hotai Finance Co (和潤企業) yesterday rose 84.91 percent to close at NT$98 on the first day of trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange amid optimism over the company’s profitability, dealers said.
The significant gain, compared with an issue price of NT$53, also reflected confidence in the support the company gets from its major shareholder — Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車) — the nation’s largest manufacturer and distributor of vehicles, and the local sales agent for Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp, they said.
Shares of Hotai Motor, which had a more than 30 percent share of the market in the first 11 months of this year, added 0.99 percent to close at NT$615 on the main bourse.
Hotai Finance opened up almost 55 percent and buying accelerated to maintain the upward momentum until the end of the trading session, dealers said.
“Hotai Finance was a hit as investors were generally upbeat about the company’s bottom line,” Hua Nan Securities Co (華南永昌證券) analyst Kevin Su (蘇俊宏) said. “With Hotai Motor as its major shareholder, Hotai Finance is quite likely to secure more business in the vehicle financing market.”
Another of Hotai Finance’s largest shareholders is Toyota Financial Services Corp.
Hotai Finance posted a net profit of NT$1.82 billion (US$59.7 million) for the first three quarters of the year, up 32 percent from a year earlier.
The company provides financing for new private and commercial vehicles, used vehicles and motorcycles, as well as vehicle refinancing services, its Web site says.
Hotai Finance has extended its financing business to corporate equipment leasing — including healthcare equipment, machinery, construction facilities and commercial vehicle leasing — and customized corporate financial services.
The company in 2007 teamed up with Chinese affiliate Hotai Leasing Corp (和運租車) to set up Hoyun International Lease Co (和運國際租賃) in Shanghai to provide vehicle, machinery and production equipment leasing services that allow companies to make better use of their funds.
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