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Tsingtao asks for brewery
China's Tsingtao Brewery Co (青島啤酒) asked Sanyo Whisbih Group (三洋維士比) of Taiwan to build the Chinese company's first brewery in Taiwan, tapping a market where drinkers consume about 550,000 tonnes of beer a year. Tsingtao said in a statement it will give Sanyo brewing technology and the use of its brand name for the plant, which will be able to make 100,000 tonnes of beer a year. Tsingtao will get royalties, spokeswoman Yuan Lu said, declining to say how much. The Chinese company won't invest any money to start and may take as much as a 30 percent stake after Taiwan begins allowing Chinese companies to invest in Taiwan. Tsingtao and rival Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co (燕京啤酒) began exporting beer this year to Taiwan after the end of the government-owned Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau's (菸酒公賣局) alcohol production monopoly. Taiwan Tobacco has about 85 percent of the beer market with its Taiwan Beer brand.

CeBIT Asia opens
The CeBIT Asia trade show opened yesterday in Shanghai with information technology products and telecommunications equipment the main draw at the four-day event. A total of 544 companies from 25 nations will be displaying their latest products at the show, including 161 exhibitors from Taiwan and 173 from China. CeBIT Asia is organized by Germany's Hanover Fair company, organizers of the world's largest computer and telecom equipment show CeBIT Hanover.

CPC in new venture
Norwest Energy NL of Australia announced yesterday that Taiwan's state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) agreed to join an exploration joint venture in the Timor Sea. Chinese Petroleum's OPIC Australia Pty unit will take a 25 percent stake in the Ashmore-Cartier AC/P 32 license through funding exploration, Norwest said in a press release lodged with the Australian Stock Exchange. The exploration agreement is Chinese Petroleum's first in Australia for more than 10 years, Norwest said. Taiwan imports most of its oil from West Africa and the Middle East.

LPG prices to go up
Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) yesterday announced that it will raise liquefied petroleum gas product prices by between 5.26 percent and 6 percent in the domestic market, as prices rise on the international markets. The company will raise LPG for household use by NT$0.7 a kilogram and hike LPG for cars by between NT$0.6 and NT$0.74 a kilogram, Chinese Petroleum said in a statement. The new measures take effective from today.

Central bank keeps loose policy
Local-currency bonds gained on expectations interest rates won't rise after a Chinese-language newspaper report, citing central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南), said the central bank will maintain a loose monetary policy. "The current policy means that even if the central bank doesn't cut rates, it won't be in a hurry to raise rates," said Jack Yang, a bond trader at China Bills Finance Corp (中華票券). "With the weak rebound pace, there's still demand for bonds."

NT dollar falls
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell against its US counterpart on the Taipei foreign exchange market, shedding NT$0.078 to close at NT$34.325. The turnover was US$341 million, up from last Friday's US$325 million. The local currency opened at the day's low of NT$34.335 against the greenback and hit a high of NT$34.265 during the session.

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