China biggest export market
China has become Taiwan's largest export market and the leading source of trade surplus, with both exports to and imports from China posting record highs last year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Two-way trade totaled US$41 billion last year, accounting for 16.9 percent of the nation's total foreign trade and representing a 36.9 percent increase over the 2001 level, the ministry said.
Exports to China hit US$33.06 billion last year, up by 37.4 percent over the year-earlier level and accounting for a historic high of 25.3 percent of the country's total outbound shipments. At the same time, imports from China reached US$7.95 billion, up by 34.7 percent year-on-year and making up a historic 7.1 percent of the nation's overall import value.
Officials of the ministry's Board of Foreign Trade attributed the gap to the large growth in the China's imports of Taiwan goods due to its stronger demand for infrastructure and construction materials since its entry into the WTO and its bid to host international events such as the 2008 Olympic Games.
Since March last year, two-way trade across the Taiwan Strait has been expanding by leaps and bounds, making China into Taiwan's largest export outlet and its third-largest import source, officials at the board said.
MOEA monitors trade
The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it has started a special export monitoring mechanism to help maintain normal foreign trade activities in the wake of the outbreak of a US-led war on Iraq.
A task force under the ministry will keep a close watch on the import and export sectors and the ministry is willing to provide assistance to domestic companies in need, the ministry said.
Quanta drops share sale
Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), a flat-panel display venture owned by Japan's Sharp Corp and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), said it scrapped plans to sell NT$4.5 billion (US$129.4 million) in new shares to finance a plant.
Prospects for a share sale are unfavorable, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Indonesia seeks financing
Indonesia is seeking financing from the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (中國輸出入銀行) and Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託銀行) for textile producers in West Java province, the Jakarta Post said, citing the director of textiles at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The ministry is setting up meetings with the two banks to help the textile companies finance the purchase of new machinery. The industry has been suffering from higher costs, declining competitiveness against China and falling sales, the report said.
Textile manufacturers used 80 percent of capacity last year, the Indonesian Textile Association said previously.
Indonesia's textile exports hit a record of US$8.2 billion in 2000, before dropping 7.3 percent to US$7.6 billion in 2001. The government projects a decline to US$7 billion in exports this year, the report said.
The Indonesian textile industry employs 1.2 million workers and is key to stability at a time when 40 million are jobless. Textiles and garments accounted for 14 percent of 2001 exports.
NT dollar dips
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded weaker against its US counterpart, dropping NT$0.016 to close at NT$34.791 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$303 million, compared with the previous day's US$666 million.
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