Taiwan's Cathay Fin drops 5 pct on disappointing estate value

TAIPEI, May 5 (Reuters) - The following Taiwan stocks were on the move on Monday.

------------------------------------------------------

TAIEX DOWN 1.48 PCT AT 8,830.62 AT 0320 GMT

------------------------------------------------------

Shares of Cathay Financial (2882.TW), Taiwan's top financial holding firm, dropped more than 5 percent to its lowest level in nearly three weeks after its insurance arm posted a disappointing appraisal of its real estate investments.

Cathay shares fell 5.1 percent, sending the financial sub-index .TFNI 3.43 percent lower. Shares of Shin Kong Financial (2888.TW), the smaller peer of Cathay, plunged 6.2 percent.

Cathay Life's value of its property investments had risen only 56 percent, or T$75.7 billion, over the last six years. [ID:nTP329199]

"We see the potential for a short-term downside, due to the disappointing real estate appraisal result," Leman Brothers analyst Sarah Huang said in a recent research report.

"But, we think the downside will be limited given the company's laggard performance in 1Q08 and improving earnings outlook for 2Q08," she said. (US$1=T$30.5) (Reporting by Faith Hung; editing by Ken Wills)