Chen paints rosy picture
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) trumpeted the government's economic performance last year and portrayed a rosy outlook to a group of industrial and business leaders yesterday.
In a gathering with major business and industrial leaders, Chen said the nation's economic growth of 3.27 percent last year was better than expected.
He said the coming year was sure to be better still as he listed the many measures taken by his administration to improve the business environment. He noted that 96 percent of the proposals put forward by the 2001 Economic Development Advisory Conference have been implemented.
Chen said the nation ranks third in the world in terms of growth competitiveness. He also vowed that the government will organize an international conference later this year to solicit overseas investment.
CPC buys oil from Latvia
The government has purchased crude from Latvia and Russia, the Central News Agency(CNA) said yesterday, amid concerns about a war on Iraq.
Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) recently bought about 100,000 tonnes of Latvian oil drilled from the Black Sea. The oil is being shipped to Taiwan, a CPC official was quoted as saying.
"We are also negotiating to buy oil from Russia's Kuril Islands. The islands are close to Taiwan and transport is easy," the unnamed official said.
The official said it is company's policy to diversify its oil sources. The company imports 97 percent of the oil the nation needs, averaging 622,000 barrels a day.
Seventy percent of the import comes from the Middle East, 20 percent from Southeast Asia and 10 percent from Africa and Latin America.
Fubon invests in China
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) said it will invest 200 million yuan (US$24.1 million) to open a branch in Suzhou to sell property insurance to Taiwanese companies.
Fubon, which received approval from the government to start its business in China, will submit an application to the Chinese government's insurance regulator this year, the company's Beijing representative, Morris Tsai, said.
Fubon's Suzhou branch will be used to sell property insurance services to Taiwanese companies based around Jiangsu Province, Tsai said.
Legend mum on phone alliance
Legend Group Ltd (聯想), China's biggest personal-computer maker, declined to confirm a report that chief executive Yang Yuanqing (楊元慶) and other officials may seek tie-ups with local mobile-phone makers during a visit to Taiwan.
"Yang visits Taiwan every year," Legend spokeswoman Jenny Lee said, responding to a local newspaper report. "We don't know why he is there now."
Yang and his colleagues are visiting companies such as BenQ Corp (明基電通), Taiwan's biggest handset maker, Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), the report said. Legend may seek partnerships with local companies to build its share of the handset market in China, the world's biggest, the report said.
Officials from Haier Group Co (海爾), China's biggest home-appliance maker, may visit local handset makers next week to discuss possible partnerships, the report said.
NT dollar drops
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against its US counterpart, losing NT$0.002 to close at TN$34.817 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$283 million, compared with the previous day's US$412 million.
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