China ties drive TAIEX higher
The TAIEX closed 2.28 percent higher yesterday on hopes of closer economic links with China after the government lifted its restrictions on Chinese investors, dealers said.
The index rose 146.81 points to 6,578.97 on turnover of NT$105.53 billion (US$3.22 billion).
Gainers outnumbered losers 1,846 to 449, while 106 stocks remained unchanged.
The market opened higher and outperformed other markets in the region, spurred by the lifting of the decades-old restrictions on investment by Chinese individuals and businesses, analysts said.
“Asset-related and banking plays led the early trade, as investors believed they would benefit from the announcement,” Capital Securities (群益證券) analyst Chen Yu-yu (陳育娛) said.
Delegation leaves for Beijing
50-member delegation of legislators and bank representatives left yesterday for a five-day visit to Beijing to gain a deeper understanding of China’s banking sector, ahead of the possible signing of a memorandum of understanding on financial supervision cooperation between Taiwan and China.
The delegation, led by ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), is composed of 15 lawmakers on the Legislature’s Finance Committee, Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮), Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀) chairman Wang Rong-jou (王榮周) and the heads of many other banks.
The delegates will be visiting Chinese financial and banking regulators — the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission — and state-run banks. They will also meet with Wang Yi (王毅), head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.
Banking restrictions lifted
Banks and financial institutions are now allowed to offer their services and lend to Chinese companies and Chinese individuals that have Taiwan residency permits as part of the government’s opening measures to Chinese investment, the Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.
Domestic banks can also extend foreign-currency loans to Chinese companies that have received permission to set up branches in Taiwan, the commission said.
Simplified Chinese added to site
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) added an option of using simplified Chinese characters to navigate its trade services Web site yesterday.
The simplified Chinese version of Taiwantrade allows traders in China to better grasp developments in Taiwan’s industrial and export sectors, TAITRA said.
The non-profit trade-promotion organization said that it received more than 9,000 inquiries about products or trade opportunities from China, Hong Kong and Macau in the first six months of this year, despite the global economic slowdown.
AIG to sell Taiwanese assets
American International Group Inc (AIG), the insurer bailed out by the US government, has agreed to sell the assets of its Taiwanese credit-card operation to Far Eastern International Bank (遠東商銀) for undisclosed terms.
The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the third quarter, the New York-based insurer said in a statement on Tuesday.
NT dollar edges higher
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.033 to close at NT$32.785. A total of US$853 million changed hands.
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