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Evergreen to expand fleet
Evergreen Group (長榮集團), the world's fourth-largest shipping company by container capacity, plans to spend almost US$3 billion in the next 10 years to expand and upgrade its fleet to take advantage of a recovering global economy.

The company will add 49 new ships, costing an average US$55 million each, said Daphne Tsai, a spokeswoman for Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), the group's main shipping unit.

Demand for Asian-made toys, clothing and electronic products from companies is rising as the US economy rebounds. Anticipation of increased exports from Asia is prompting shipping companies such as Evergreen and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, Japan's third-largest shipping line, to expand their fleets.

"A lot of shipping routes can be developed and the ships are also part of our replacement program," Tsai said, declining to be more specific.

Tax revenue on the rise
Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全) yesterday cited statistics showing that tax revenue in August totaled NT$60 billion (US$1.759 billion), a sharp increase from the same month last year.

This represented the first rebound since the outbreaks of SARS between March and June, indicating that the tax shortage this year will be less serious as earlier predicted, Lin said.

Lin said that August tax revenues were about NT$10 billion more than the same month last year, or an increase of 20 percent. If in the next four months tax revenues increase by NT$10 billion per month from the original prediction, then the tax shortage will be limited. The ministry originally estimated that the tax shortage would be NT$100 billion.

New telecom products eyed
The government will seek to expand cellphone and Internet applications by domestic users with a view to creating a new wave of trade opportunities for the telecommunications sector and other related industries, Council for Economic Planning and Development Deputy Chairwoman Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥) said yesterday.

Ho said that building a wireless roving environment favorable for expanding applications of the two systems will lead to the further development of local hardware manufacturing and software service industries.

The government will formulate a set of concrete measures to build an environment favorable for integrating Internet and cell phone applications, Ho said. The goal will be achieved by 2006 or 2007 if everything goes smoothly, she added.

Ownership rules evaluated
The government may lift its limit on foreign ownership in Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) to 35 percent to prepare for more overseas sales of shares in the company, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing unidentified officials.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications, which sold a stake in the company in the US in July, will raise the current limit from 20 percent to help a new overseas share sale that could take place by October, the report said. On July 17, a 12 percent stake in Chunghwa Telecom was sold to overseas and domestic investors, raising US$1.65 billion to help plug a budget deficit and finance spending to create jobs.

Chunghwa Telecom reported yesterday that its August sales fell 1 percent to NT$15.6 billion (US$457.5 million) from the same month a year ago.

NT dollar up on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned strong against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.032 to close at NT$34.097 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.

Turnover was US$858 million.

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