Gas price holds steady
Domestic gasoline prices will remain constant, while diesel prices will lower by NT$0.2 per liter effective today, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) announced yesterday.
CPC’s price for a liter of 98-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$24.4, 95-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$22.9, and 92-octane unleaded gasoline will remain at NT$22.2. Diesel will be NT$19.3 per liter.
The privately owned oil refiner Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced later yesterday it would match its bigger rival’s price adjustments, effective today as well.
CPC said yesterday that it would announce next month’s liquified petroleum gas (LPG) price at the end of this month.
With the looming Lunar New Year holiday, the new LPG price will take effect on Feb. 7 if there is an increase and on Feb. 2, if there is a decrease, the state-run company said.
Yulon Nissan makes donation
Yulon Nissan Motor Co (裕隆日產) donated NT$10 million (US$300,000) on Thursday to the Taipei City government to sponsor animal conservation and research programs launched by the Taipei Zoo.
Kenneth Yen (嚴凱泰), chairman of Yulon Nissan, a joint venture between Taiwan’s Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) and Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., made the donation after signing a sponsorship agreement with Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) on Thursday.
The money will be used to study the habitat of a pair of giant pandas given by China to Taiwan and to enhance research on local wildlife conservation.
Cosmos chairman resigns
Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行) announced yesterday that Simon Williams tendered his resignation as chairman on Thursday for personal reasons, a company filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange said.
The company’s board approved Williams’ resignation on Thursday, the filing said. The resignation takes effect on Feb. 1, it added.
Cosmos, which launched the nation’s first cash-advance cards 10 years ago, said its board had named Jeffrey Hendren as an acting chairman during the transitional period.
Both Hendren and Williams are from private equity group SAC Private Capital Group LLC, and Hendren is an SAC managing director based in Hong Kong.
SAC has seven of its representatives sitting on Cosmos’ 13-member board.
Cosmos sold a total of 80 percent of its stakes to SAC and GE Money Asia for NT$29.7 billion in 2007.
Government sells notes
Taiwan’s government sold NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion) of five-year notes at a yield of 0.97 percent, the central bank said yesterday in a statement.
The sale attracted bids for 1.3 times the amount of debt on offer, compared with a so-called bid-to-cover ratio of 2.84 times at the previous auction of comparable debt on Oct. 24, the statement said. The yield at the last sale was 1.95 percent.
NT dollar advances on dollar
The New Taiwan dollar advanced on speculation some exporters bought the currency before a one-week holiday at the end of this month.
The NT dollar climbed 0.1 percent to NT$33.360 against the US currency at the 4pm close, Taipei Forex Inc said. It weakened 0.6 percent this week.
The local currency pared this week’s losses as companies probably repatriated their overseas earnings to settle debt and pay bonuses to employees before the Lunar New Year festival. Government offices and most businesses in Taiwan will be closed from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1.
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