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
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) is weighing whether to add a life insurance business to its portfolio, but would tread cautiously after completing three acquisitions in quick succession, president Stanley Chu (朱士廷) said yesterday. “We are carefully considering whether life insurance should play a role in SinoPac’s business map,” Chu told reporters ahead of an earnings conference. “Our priority is to ensure the success of the deals we have already made, even though we are tracking some possible targets.” Local media have reported that Mercuries Life Insurance Co (三商美邦人壽), which is seeking buyers amid financial strains, has invited three financial
HEADWINDS: Upfront investment is unavoidable in the merger, but cost savings would materialize over time, TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin said TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) said it would take about two years before the benefits of its merger with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) become evident, as the group prioritizes the consolidation of its major subsidiaries. “The group’s priority is to complete the consolidation of different subsidiaries,” Welch Lin (林維俊), president of the nation’s fourth-largest financial conglomerate by assets, told reporters during its first earnings briefing since the merger took effect on July 24. The asset management units are scheduled to merge in November, followed by life insurance in January next year and securities operations in April, Lin said. Banking integration,
Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Cambricon Technologies Corp (寒武紀科技) plunged almost 9 percent after warning investors about a doubling in its share price over just a month, a record gain that helped fuel a US$1 trillion Chinese market rally. Cambricon triggered the selloff with a Thursday filing in which it dispelled talk about nonexistent products in the pipeline, reminded investors it labors under US sanctions, and stressed the difficulties of ascending the technology ladder. The Shanghai-listed company’s stock dived by the most since April in early yesterday trading, while the market stood largely unchanged. The litany of warnings underscores growing scrutiny of
RSS