Investment in China doubles
Taiwan corporate investment in China almost doubled last month to US$372.4 million from a year earlier as manufacturers shift production across the Strait to tap lower costs and the world's most populous market.
At the same time, investment in Taiwan fell 13 percent to US$315.7 million.
Separately, Taiwan factory closures fell 29 percent last month to 245 from a year earlier, according to government data. New factory registrations rose 36 percent to 432.
In the first 11 months, factory closures fell 34 percent to 2,979, while the number of new factories opened rose 15 percent to 3,946.
Taiwan posts surplus with US
Two-way trade between Taiwan and the US reached US$42.2 billion for the first 10 months of this year, with Taiwan enjoying a trade surplus of US$11.16 billion, according to the latest statistics released by the US Department of Commerce.
The statistics showed that US exports to Taiwan amounted to US$15.52 billion for the January-October period, while its imports from the nation totalled US$26.68 billion for the same period.
The tallies also showed that for October of this year, the US registered a trade deficit of US$1.099 billion with Taiwan, with US exports to the nation totalling US$1.478 billion and its imports from Taiwan amounting to US$2.577.
Meanwhile, China enjoyed a trade surplus of US$83.118 billion with the US over the first 10 months of this year, according to the statistics.
Compeq widens loss forecast
Compeq Manufacturing Co (華通電子) widened this year's net loss forecast because of lower-than-expected demand for notebook and desktop computers.
The company's net loss forecast swelled to NT$1.17 billion (US$34 million) from NT$822 million, Compeq said in a statement.
It's the company's second earnings revision this year.
Ratings on Shinkong lowered
Standard & Poor's said yesterday that it had lowered its insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on Shinkong Insur-ance Co (新光人壽) to BBB+ from A-. The outlook on the insurer was revised to stable from negative.
The rating action reflects a softening in Shinkong's operating performance over the past two years, stemming from a weakness in both underwriting and investment, and the expectation that it would be difficult for the company to revert, in the near-to-medium term, to its prior performance levels without having to take on undue risk, the S&P said in a statement.
HK lacks competition, WTO says
The Hong Kong economy is dominated by a few conglomerates and the lack of any comprehensive law to ensure competition could deter investment, the WTO says.
Hong Kong prevents anticompetitive practices in some sectors, including telecommunications and broadcasting, but the rules are less consistent in other industries, the WTO said in a report put out every four years on each of its members.
"The entrenchment of a few dominant conglomerates in the domestic market and the seeming lack of coherent measures to address anticompetitive practices in all but a few sectors could constitute an obstacle to greater competition from domestic and foreign firms in the provision of services," said the WTO report released this week.
NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday strengthened against its US counterpart, increasing NT$0.032 to close at NT$34.853 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
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