■ Taiwan Cellular selling stake
Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), the nation's largest mobile phone operator, said its board approved a plan to sell a stake in rival Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) after a strategy for a link-up between the two companies couldn't be implemented.
Taiwan Cellular, which on Dec. 17 last year paid NT$27.7 billion (US$813.4 million) for 550 million shares of Chunghwa Telecom, will select a time for the sale based on market conditions, Taiwan Cellular said in a statement.
■ Fubon delays bank purchase
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the country's second-largest financial services provider, agreed with Arab Banking Corp to delay by two months the time it will take to gain approvals from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for its purchase of International Bank of Asia (港基銀行).
Fubon and International Bank of Asia pushed back the date for gaining the approvals to Feb. 10 from today, because conditions for the sale haven't been fulfilled yet, the banks said in announcements to stock exchanges.
"We are only waiting for the approval from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority," said Victor Kung (龔天行), Fubon's chief financial officer. Fubon in September signed an agreement to buy Arab Bank's 55 percent stake in International Bank.
■ Inventec soldiering on
Inventec Corp (英業達集團), a leading laptop maker, yesterday said its operation will not be negatively affected by the death of company vice chairman Sayling Wen (溫世仁).
"The operation won't be affected as Wen has gradually phased himself out of the company's operations, but the mood of our employees is seriously affected," Inventec spokesman Alex Hsu (徐信群) said yesterday.
Wen, 55, the second-largest shareholder of Inventec, passed away Sunday afternoon after suffering a stroke last Thursday. Wen held a 7.28 percent stake in the company, second only to Inventec Chairman Yeh Yee-wei's (葉國一) 7.67 percent holdings.
Inventec will not nominate a replacement for Wen on the company's board, but will choose someone from the five-member board as vice chairman, Hsu said.
■ Chunghwa Picture revises up
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), Taiwan's third-largest maker of flat-panel displays used in computers and televisions, revised its 2003 pre-tax loss forecast to a profit.
Chunghwa said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp that the company expects a pre-tax profit of NT$1.08 billion ($31.7 million), revised from a pre-tax loss of NT$635 million.
■ IPR seminar in Taipei today
In Taipei today the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Intellectual Property Office and Bureau of Foreign Trade are hosting a joint seminar on intellectual property rights (IPR) with the American Institute in Taiwan and the Chunghwa Institute of Economic Research in Taipei, the first of its kind to involve US government officials, the office said yesterday in a statement.
Around 20 experts from the US, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan are scheduled to talk about copyright protection in the digital era, copyright protection and IPR enforcement by Taiwan judges and prosecutors, the statement said.
The seminar continues through Friday, but only today's session is open to the public.
■ NT dollar higher
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.044 to close at NT$34.060 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
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