■ Yunlin County set for boom
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) painted a rosy picture of the future for the south-central Yunlin County yesterday, saying that Yunlin has the promise to become a new high-tech manufacturing stronghold as well as a tourist haven.
Addressing a press conference marking the opening of a Yunlin arts and folklore exhibition at the Presidential Office, Chen said the Yunlin complex of the Central Taiwan Science-based Industry Park (中部科學園區) is promising to attract investment to the tune of NT$1 trillion (US$29 billion) when it becomes commercially operational in 2010.
The Yunlin complex -- construction of which began in 2003 -- is forecast to create some 50,000 jobs once it is fully occupied by high-tech companies, Chen said.
■ Gas prices rise at midnight
The state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) announced yesterday that the company will hike prices for natural gas by an average 1.9 percent starting at midnight tonight, a company statement said.
The hikes are necessary to reflect the soaring prices of international crude oil and liquid natural gas. After the adjustment, prices of natural gas range from NT$8.04 to NT$10.43 per cubic meter, depending on the applications.
■ Chunghwa sales rise
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) said yesterday its 2003 sales beat its target by nearly two percent on the back of increased subscriptions for its cellphone and broadband services.
Chunghwa Telecom's sales last year rose 1.7 percent to NT$179.14 billion (US$5.3 billion), the company said in a statement.
■ LCD TV makers to hit jackpot
Taiwan's LCD TV makers are forecast to seize a 20 percent market share internationally this year, a ratio that is predicted to hit 40 percent by 2007, the Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所) reported on Thursday.
With improved quality and prices falling around the world, the LCD TVs are expected to replace traditional CRT TVs and increasingly become an indispensable household appliance. When the price gap between the two types narrows to two-fold from the current four to five-fold, more than 10 percent of households will be able to afford an LCD TV, the institute said.
Topology forecast that the international market scale is about 10 million units this year and that the number will rise to nearly 40 million units in 2007.
Taiwan-based manufacturers will make around 2.4 million units this year, accounting for 23.5 percent of the world market, according to the institute's forecast.
The institute also forecast a price drop in LCD TVs this year, ranging from 25 percent to 17 percent for different sizes. Slimmer profits might push Japanese and US companies to place a larger number of orders with Taiwanese contractors, it said.
■ Overseas buyers set record
Overseas investors bought a net NT$16 billion (US$474 million) of Taiwan shares today, the second highest amount on record.
The TAIEX has risen 5.7 percent this year. The record NT$17.6 billion in foreign purchases was set on April 17, 2002, followed by a 33 percent plunge in the benchmark index in the following six months, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Overseas investors bought a net NT$548.9 billion of Taiwanese stocks last year, according to the Securities and Futures Commission, helping spur a 32.3 percent rally in the TAIEX last year.
■ NT dollar still rising
The New Taiwan dollar rose for a second week against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.009 to close at NT$33.788 on the Taipei foreign exchange market yesterday.
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