Gigabyte has announced that the company will be buying back 10 million shares of stock according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The purchasing budget for these shares of stock will not exceed NT$11.83 billion (US$3.41 million) and the price of the stock being purchased will range from NT$9.73-18.86 (US$0.28-0.55). Purchases will be made between February 17th through April 15th. The 10 million shares will account for about 1.58% of the company's outstanding shares and will be purchased through the common stock market. Gigabyte has stated that it is doing this to protect the company's credit and the rights of its shareholders.

Speculatively speaking, I would say that Gigabyte must have some big plans and be very confident about their business for 2009, or else they would not be doing this. During this huge economic downturn, it takes a lot of gumption for a company to invest in their own stock when everything is looking so bleak and grim for the current future.