Taiwan stocks fell on concern the government would report yesterday that first-quarter economic growth expanded at its slowest pace in more than 25 years.
Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd (
The TAIEX fell 56.71 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,170.08, though it's up 1.1 percent in the week. Six stocks fell for every two that rose. The total value of trade today was NT$56.1 billion (US$1.7 billion), 38 percent less than the year-to-date average of NT$91.2 billion.
"We don't think economic statistics will show any improvement until the second half of the year," said Cheng Yi-sheng, who manages NT$1.5 billion (US$44 million) at Taiwan Securities Ltd (
"We're not in a hurry to build positions as 70 percent of our portfolio is in stocks," Cheng said.
Chunghwa Telecom fell NT$1.50, or 2.4 percent, to NT$62 on concern lower economic growth will depress consumer spending on telecommunications. Mobile phone customer numbers will probably not grow as fast as in the past as more than 50 percent of the country's population have mobile phones.
Some banks fell on concerns a government directive yesterday to make banks keep lending to companies may further increase their non-performing loans. The government estimates banks' non-performing loans are less than 6 percent of their total loans, though Goldman Sachs Group Inc estimates it could be as high as 15 percent.
China Development Industrial Bank (
Chinatrust Commercial Bank (
Memory-chip makers declined. Nanya Technology Corp (
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