■ Credit-card use soars
Taiwan's total credit card transactions rose to a record NT$999 billion (US$30 billion) last year, as Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中國信託銀行), Citigroup Inc and other banks increased marketing to win more customers.
The value of transactions rose 14 percent last year from NT$874 billion in 2002, according to the Bureau of Monetary Affairs' Web site. Revolving credit increased 26 percent to NT$400 billion in December from a year ago.
The number of credit cards in circulation in December rose to 37.9 million in the country of 23 million people, the bureau said.
Chinatrust, Taiwan's largest credit card issuer, Citigroup, the biggest foreign card issuer, and other lenders are expanding their consumer banking and fee-based businesses to improve profits amid intensifying competition and falling interest rates in corporate lending in Taiwan.
■ Farm products sold online
An on-line system for exporting agricultural products -- Taiwan AgExporter -- was launched yesterday to establish a transaction platform between foreign buyers and Taiwanese agricultural product suppliers.
The network, to be found at http://trade.coa.gov.tw, was set up by the Council of Agriculture and jointly sponsored by the Institute for Information Industry and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.
Deputy COA Chairman Lee Chien-chuan (李健全) said the purpose of the Web site is to introduce Taiwan's agricultural products to the world in the hope that "Taiwan farmers can catch a ride on the international marketing train."
■ Forex reserves could rise
Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves might continue to increase in the short term, despite the fact that the country is already the world's third-largest holder of foreign reserves, according to the central bank.
The Central Bank of China forecast that the level of Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves will continue to rise in the coming months and set new records due to two key factors: a rebounding stock market coupled with robust public anticipation of a stronger local currency; and Taiwan's increasing trade surplus.
The bank announced a day earlier that Taiwan held US$214.926 billion worth of foreign exchange reserves as of the end of January, behind only Japan with US$673.529 billion and China with US$403.251 billion.
In the face of booming Asian stock markets, including Taiwan, and a widely expected depreciation of the US dollar, foreign money will continue to flood into Taiwan, the bank's officials said.
At the same time, the Chinese yuan has been under strong pressure to appreciate, a development which could also push up the New Taiwan dollar, they pointed out.
■ Sell bonds locally, bank says
Taiwan's central bank urged the nation's companies to raise funds through domestic bonds convertible into stock, instead of selling the securities abroad, to reduce borrowing costs.
"If companies need to raise Taiwan dollar-denominated capital, selling bonds locally will not only lower costs, it will also avoid the risks of fluctuating foreign exchange rates," the central bank said in a faxed statement.
The government approved US$21 billion of corporate sales of bonds and shares overseas last year, about three-quarters more than in 2002, according to the Investment Commission data.
■ NT dollar declines
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.010 to close at NT$33.295 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
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