Vietnam first for investment
Taiwan's investment in the major countries of Southeast Asia in the first half of this year totaled US$185.27 million, with Vietnam attracting US$131.5 million, according to government statistics released yesterday.
The statistics compiled by the Industrial Development and Investment Center of the Ministry of Economic Affairs indicate that Thailand came next with US$18.86 million, followed by Malaysia with US$15.41 million.
In terms of aggregate investment from Taiwan, however, Indonesia leads the list with US$12.88 billion, followed by Thailand with US$10.52 billion and Malaysia with US$9.2 billion.
Taiwan has recently adopted a "go south" policy to encourage enterprises to switch their investments from mainland China to Southeast Asia, but the policy suffered a major setback recently when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was forced to cancel a plan to visit Indonesia Dec. 15-17 to promote the policy. The incident might prompt Taipei to reconsider its "go south" policy, according to observers.
Opposition afraid of SOEs' debts
Several opposition legislators expressed worry yesterday about the debts of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), saying that the collective debts of the enterprises is as high as NT$17.3 trillion (US$494.28 billion), or more than 82 percent of their total assets.
Independent Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜) said that because of their poor financial states, the enterprises would be on the verge of collapse if they were not being bolstered by the government.
She suggested the government consider setting up a fund to write off the companies' debts.
Other legislators including Wang Chung-yu (王鍾渝), Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) and Pong Chien-kuo (龐建國), said that of the 34 state-owned enterprises, the long-term debts of eight exceed the paid-in capital. Even Taiwan
Power Co's (台電) long-term debt is twice its paid-in capital. Kaohsiung Ammonium Sulfate Corp's (高雄硫酸錏) debt accounts for 82.63 percent of its paid-in capital.
Flat-panel shipments fall
Shipments of flat-panel displays for computer monitors and televisions by companies such as Samsung Electronics Co fell 8 percent in the third quarter because PC makers had excess inventory, a market researcher said.
The drop in shipments, which totaled 16.2 million units, was the steepest of the three quarter-on-quarter declines recorded in the last three years, said researcher DisplaySearch.
Compared with the third quarter last year, shipments rose 40 percent.
The weak demand for monitors and excess manufacturing capacity at makers of flat panels resulted in a price decline of 5 percent on average, compared with a 13 percent increase in the second quarter.
For the fourth quarter, prices may fall an additional 19 percent, which should stimulate demand and result in shipments increasing 12 percent, DisplaySearch predicted. Prices may stabilize in the first quarter.
NT dollar weakens
The NT dollar weakened after Standard & Poor's cut the nation's debt rating by one level, citing the government's "slow pace'' in carrying out banking and fiscal reforms.
The S&P rating cut "means the New Taiwan dollar may not be able to strengthen in coming days," said Tom Chou, a currency trader at the Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫).
The local currency fell NT$0.063 against its US counterpart to close at NT$34.848. Turnover was US$450.5 million, compared with the previous day's US$397 million.
The currency may fall to NT$34.90 by the end of the year, Chou said.
Agencies
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The