Chunghwa share sale called off
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday called off an offer of 180 million shares in Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) to local investors, the ministry said. Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications Chang Chia-chu (張家祝) said the proposed sale was cancelled because the ministry is still mulling ways to sell the state-controlled company's stock to as many buyers as possible. Chang didn't give a new timeframe for the sale. The ministry has hired Capital Securities Corp (群益證券) to manage the auction, which had been scheduled for yesterday and today. If the ministry completed the share sale smoothly, the move would help lower the government's stake in Chunghwa Telecom from 65.98 percent to 63.11 percent.
Consumer group urges action
Travel services and government agencies should play more responsible roles in handling the dysentery outbreak among tourists returning from Bali, the Consumers' Foundation (消基會) said in a statement yesterday. Travel agencies should immediately cancel their scheduled trips to Bali or replace Bali with safer destinations, the foundation said, citing Article 7 of Consumer Protection Law (消保法). The foundation said that if it is true Indonesia's tourism bureau described the illness as enterogastritis contraction, instead of dysentery, then the consumers and travel agencies should boycott Indonesia until the government makes improvement. It said the Tourism Bureau and Ministry of Foreign Affairs should provide people with complete information about the outbreak of dysentery.
Chinatrust to take charge
Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控) plans to take a one-time charge of NT$10 billion (US$293 million), prompting it to cut its full-year profit forecast, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday without saying where it got the information. The paper didn't say what the charge would be for. Chinatrust agreed to buy rival Grand Commercial Bank (萬通銀行) in July.
Hon Hai gets Wal-Mart order
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) won its first order from Wal-Mart Stores to supply about 300,000 portable DVD players to the US retailer for the Christmas season, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday. Hon Hai, which may increase shipments to as many as 400,000 DVD players a month, aims to sell to Wal-Mart more products such as flat-panel televisions for use in automobiles, the paper said. Hon Hai, which has yet to start production at its flat-panel display plant, will buy screens for the DVD players from Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the paper said. Matsushita buys e-books
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co will buy electronic books from First International Computer Inc (大眾電腦), a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday. The Japanese electronics company, which plans to increase purchasing from Taiwan of flat-panel televisions and telephones that can send and receive voice communications on the Internet, will send an executive to Taipei next week to complete procurement plans, the paper said.
NT dollar dips on speculation
The New Taiwan dollar slid on speculation the central bank will sell the currency to try to thwart a 1.4 percent gain this year that may erode profits for exporters. The currency fell 0.2 percent to close at NT$34.18 against its US counterpart, its weakest close since Aug. 28. Turnover was US$664 million.
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