CPC to raise prices
Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油), Taiwan's state-owned oil refiner, yesterday announced to raise domestic wholesale prices of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil by an average 3.87 percent, effective Saturday.
The company is raising the prices of unleaded 95 and 98 gasoline each by NT$0.40 a liter, and that of diesel by NT$1 a liter, while the price of fuel oil will be increased by NT$200 a kiloliter.
The company attributed the price hike to recent weakness in the New Taiwan dollar and rises in international crude oil prices.
The local unit has fallen about 4 percent against the US dollar in the past three months. Brent crude oil, the benchmark for two-thirds of the world's oil, has risen about a third this year in part on worries about a war in the Persian Gulf.
Rivals Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) and Esso Petroleum Taiwan Inc (台灣埃索) also announced later last night to hike prices in following suit, citing higher crude oil prices.
Winbond losses narrow
Winbond Electronics Corp (華邦電子) said its third-quarter loss shrank 93 percent as the chipmaker boosted sales of higher-priced chips.
Winbond's net loss narrowed to NT$283 million ($8 million) from NT$4 billion a year ago. Sales rose by more than half to NT$7.8 billion.
High-speed memory chips sell for more than double the price of standard memory chips. The average selling price of Winbond's memory chips rose 10 percent from the previous quarter, the company said. Memory chips accounted for 60 percent of sales, compared with 49 percent in the second quarter. About 63 percent of memory chip sales in the third quarter were high-speed memory chips.
Winbond's gross profit margin in the third quarter was 21 percent, compared with a loss a year ago.
Special IC design zone needed
Taiwan's need to build a special zone for the domestic IC design industry is imminent, according to a survey by the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development.
The poll shows that 44 of the 69 IC design companies that responded to the survey said that they need land in the Hsinchu area for business expansion over the next five years. Most of the 44 firms are based in Hsinchu, with four based in Taipei.
To cover the need of the 44 Hsinchu-based companies, including building or leasing plants and space for public facilities, a combined space of between at least 28.8 hectares and 40.5 hectares is needed in the northern county and its neighboring cities and townships.
Taiwan's IC design industry posted a 5.9 percent growth last year, with production of NT$122 billion (US$3.5 billion).
QFIIs' ceiling may be raised
The nation's central bank may consider to lift the investment ceiling by qualified foreign institutional investors, or QFII to above the current US$3 billion limit, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing central bank foreign exchange Director Chou A-ting (周阿定).
QFIIs are foreign investors approved to invest in Taiwan securities.
If the Securities and Futures Commission determines current limits should be eased, the central bank in principle would agree, Chou said.
NT dollar unchanged
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday remained unchanged against the US dollar, ending at NT$34.805 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$327 million.
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