■INVESTMENT
FSC unveils exposure
Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday that Taiwanese financial institutions had a combined NT$33.78 billion in investment linked to government agencies and companies in Greece, Spain and Portugal, amid default fears about these countries. Of that total, domestic insurers held the largest exposure at NT$19.52 billion, followed by NT$10.6 billion by banks and NT$3.66 billion by investment trust companies, the commission said in a statement. By countries, Spain obtained the largest investment from Taiwanese financial institutions at NT$29.1 billion. It was followed by Greece at NT$3.38 billion and NT$1.3 billion for Portugal, the commission said.
■BOURSE
TAIEX closes flat
Taiwanese shares closed flat yesterday on continuing concerns over debt problems in Europe, dealers said. The TAIEX index fell 4.96 points or 0.07 percent to 7,212.87 on turnover of NT$80.96 billion (US$2.53 billion). The market opened yesterday for a special session to make up for the Lunar New Year holidays.
■FOREX
NT dollar gains strength
The New Taiwan dollar traded near the strongest level in three weeks, closing up NT$0.003 to NT$32.184 against the US dollar, Taipei Forex Inc said. “The bias for [the] Taiwan dollar to strengthen hasn’t changed,” said Tommy Huang, a fixed-income securities trader at Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券).
■INVESTMENT
Fubon invests in Spain
Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) invested 270 million euro (US$369 million) in Spanish government bonds, its parent Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday. China Life Insurance Co (中國人壽) holds 5 million euros of Spanish government bonds, the Taipei-based company said in a filing to the stock exchange. Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控), meanwhile, said its banking unit has NT$1.22 billion exposure to Spanish, Greek and Portuguese bonds.
■ELECTRONICS
Innolux accelerates tie-up
Innolux Display Corp (群創光電) brought forward the date of a planned merger with Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) and TPO Displays Corp (統寶光電) to March 18 from April 1, Innolux said in an exchange filing Saturday. The companies said in late January they expected the merger to complete on Apr. 1.
■ELECTRONICS
Samsung invests in Slovakia
South Korean giant Samsung Electronics said on Friday it would invest 100 million euros in its plant in Galanta, western Slovakia in the years to come. “We plan to boost the production of LED [light-emitting diode] TV screens and start producing 3D TV screens in 2010,” the company said in a press release. By the end of October, Samsung will add 200 new jobs to the current 3,000 and retrain some 700 employees for the new production, it said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Prius accidents confirmed
The Japanese government has confirmed five new accidents involving Toyota Motor’s Prius hybrids and will urge the troubled car giant to investigate the cases, a newspaper reported yesterday. The transport ministry has received some 80 complaints this month about malfunctions in the brake system of the latest model of the flagship Prius, the Tokyo Shimbun reported without quoting sources.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
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