Taiwan stocks rose 0.76 percent on Friday, with the island's top two LCD makers AU and Chi Mei leading gains after saying they would sign tie-up deals with Chinese TV makers to develop the mainland market. The main TAIEX share index closed 32.93 points higher at 4,353.70, following a positive day on Wall Street and bouncing back from a six-week closing low in the previous session.
Turnover was thin at T$46.8 billion ($1.4 billion), lower than Thursday's T$54 billion. AU Optronics and smaller rival Chi Mei were up 3.61 percent and 3 percent, respectively, with the broader optoelectronics sub-index rising 2.96 percent.
Both companies said on Friday they would sign strategic supply deals with top China TV makers, as they aim to develop mainland sales following a slump in the key US and European markets. "I think Chi Mei has a better chance than AU to develop in China as most of its production goes to small and medium enterprises like the ones in China," said Andrew Deng, a vice president of Taiwan International Securities Corp.
"It's a positive development for AU and Chi Mei, but we'll need to watch whether the deals will be fully implemented." Deng expected the market to trade between 4,100-4,500 points before the Lunar New Year holidays. The stock market will be closed from January 22 through February 1.
However, shares of ProMOS Technologies fell by its 7 percent daily limit after the company said it was raising T$580 million through the sale of chip-making equipment to TSMC but would incur a T$570 million loss on the sale. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's top contract chipmaker, rose 1.71 percent, lifting the electronics sub-index by 1.54 percent. ProMOS's larger rivals Powerchip and Nanya Tech both gained about 1 percent.