More transparency needed
International corporations investing in Taiwan suggest that transparency and simple laws and regulations are vital to improving the investment environment.
Nearly half of the foreign companies answering a questionnaire on its investment environment were not satisfied with the government's performance in processing investment applications, and 45 percent said that the existing tax system and administrative regulations have confined their operations and business growth.
The survey was conducted by the Chinese-language magazine Global Views Monthly among members of the American Cham-ber of Commerce in Taipei, the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei and some companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
MOTC to check China's harbors
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has budgeted NT$78,000 to send an official to China to study its harbor facilities next year, in tandem with the government's plan to establish direct shipping links.
The ministry said it wants to send an official to visit the harbor facilities of Guangzhou, Dalian, Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin.
The official would also exchange views with harbor authorities on technical problems relating to direct shipping links, the ministry added.
President Chain raises forecast
President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) raised its pretax profit forecast for this year 8.6 percent after the sale of stakes in ventures with Starbucks Corp increased first-half earnings.
President Chain, which earlier projected pretax profit of NT$3.5 billion (US$102 million), said it expects to earn NT$3.8 billion this year.
The company is forecasting sales will double to NT$77 billion.
Average daily per-store sales in the first seven months of this year dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$62,715, chief financial officer Fred Chen (陳福唐) said after the investors' meeting.
President Chain added 187 outlets in the period, expanding to 3,370 stores.
Lite-On to fix IBM monitors
Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶 科技), producers of the 377,000 G51 and G51t cathode-ray tube monitors that International Business Machines Corp (IBM) recalled in March, yesterday offered to repair any faulty monitors .
A malfunctioning transformer included in all G51 and G51t monitors produced before 1997 caused some of the monitors to overheat, Lite-On said in a statement yesterday. Monitors produced after 1997 do not have the faulty transformer.
"Based on the protection of consumers' safety and rights, and to retain long-term partnership with IBM, Lite-On will assist IBM in repairing the monitors," Lite-On spokesman Ignatius Wei (魏逸之) said in the statement.
FPG to build cars in China
Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) said yesterday that it aims to produce at least 200,000 vehicles a year in China at a yet to be built auto complex.
"Investing in China is a strategy to gain an entry into the mainland market. To meet economic scale, we will have to sell no less than 200,000 vehicles there a year," said Lee Tsung-chang (李宗昌), vice president of Formosa Automobile Corp (台塑汽車).
Formosa Automobile would introduce sports utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles to the China market in an initial stage of its investment, Lee said.
NT dollar gains ground
The NT dollar yesterday turned strong against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.040 to close at NT$34.170 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$714 million.
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