AU Optronics borrows big
AU Optronics Corp. (友達光電), the nation's largest maker of flat-panel displays for notebook and desktop computers, borrowed about NT$15 billion (US$435 million) from local banks to expand production.
Twenty-three banks led by Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金), Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行), International Commercial Bank of China (中國商銀), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫) provided the loan, Chinatrust said in a statement.
The loan, which includes NT$11.5 billion and US$100 million, will finance a new production line to make 17-inch liquid crystal displays, the statement said.
The line, to be installed by year-end, will begin production next April and reach mass output in the third quarter.
AU Optronics last month reported profit of NT$870 million for this year's third quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of NT$2.7 billion. It also cut its forecast of full-year profit to NT$6 billion from NT$14.3 billion. The forecast, minus nine-month profit, implies AU Optronics expects to post a loss of NT$800 million this quarter.
Sci-tech specialists needed
The Cabinet has approved proposals by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) to improve Taiwan's science and technology development environment in order to lure more high-tech personnel from abroad.
A survey conducted recently by the council shows that Taiwan's high-tech industries are facing personnel shortage problems and the CEPD has forecast that between 2001 and 2021, local industries will face shortages of up to 6,000 sci-tech personnel per year.
COA inspectors to visit Japan
Council of Agriculture officials plan to visit Japan to conduct quarantine inspections on pear scions that have been earmarked for shipment to Taiwan for cultivation, council sources said yesterday.
Officials from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine visited Japan earlier this year to inspect Japanese pear scions. They will be sent again before the end of this year to double check on pear scions, probably as a result discovery of a codling moth larvae in an apple imported from the US.
The officials will visit eight Japanese prefectures that are major pear-growing areas and that have regularly supplied Taiwan fruit growers with pear scions.
The council approved the import of 200 tonnes of Japanese pear scions this year.
New system boosts battery life
National Semiconductor Corp, which provides chips for mobile phones made by Nokia Oyj and Samsung Corp, said it's developing a way to boost handset battery life, as new functions require more power.
The systems, being developed with ARM Holdings Plc, will increase a battery's longevity one quarter to four times current rates, National Semiconductor said, and may be available in mobile phones and other devices in 2004.
"Once you start using a lot of the new features in handsets, the battery life disappears in a very short amount of time," Peter Henry, a National Semiconductor vice president, said in an interview, citing new functions like digital cameras built into wireless phones.
NT dollar drops
The NT dollar moved lower against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, dropping NT$0.150 to close at the day's high of NT$34.565.
A total of US$471.5 million changed hands.
Agencies
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