TFT LCD maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT) has set the price of its upcoming issue of 500 million shares at NT$15.30 per share, higher than the market expectation of NT$15, according sources at CPT.
The price represents a discount of about 9.5% from CPT’s closing price of NT$16.90 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) on September 16.
The new share issue is part of the company’s capital expansion plan to finance construction of its planned sixth-generation (6G) TFT LCD plant.
CPT will be able to raise NT$7.65 billion by issuing the shares, expected later this month or in early October.
CPT also plans to issue up to US$250 million in ECBs (euro-convertible bonds) before year-end. The company is expected to sign a contract in October with a banking consortium to arrange the ECB issuance.
CPT plans to begin equipment installation at its 6G plant in the fourth quarter of 2004, with commercial operations slated for the first quarter of 2005. The plant, which will require NT$58 billion in investment, will focus on production of 32- and 37-inch TFT LCDs for LCD TVs.
CPT is expected to ship 800,000 TFT LCDs in September, up from 660,000 units in August. It will also ship 4,500 PDPs (plasma display panels) in September and 5,000 in October, up from 4,000 units in August, company sources said. It expects its PDP business to break even in October.
Article translated by Steve Shen and edited by Richard So
