■ MPA sues Chinese firms
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) launched law suits last month against two DVD reproduction factories in Zhanjiang and Henan, China for allegedly producing unauthorized copies of its members' titles, the association said in a statement yesterday.
The MPA filed charges against Zhanjiang Huali Jinyin Video Co, accusing it of producing illegal copies of Time Warner Entertainment Co's television series Growing Pains, and against Henan Xianda Optical Disc Co for producing Disney Enterprises Inc's Lilo & Stitch.
Last year, the association launched similar suits against two Chinese DVD factories, forcing them to pay damages, publish apologies and check with association's Beijing office if they planned to publish any member's titles in future, the statement said.
Ninety-five percent of movie titles sold in China are bootlegged copies, up from 91 percent in 2001, MPA figures show.
■ Acer denies Changhong report
Acer Inc denied a report in Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post that it was considering a plan to buy Sichuan Changhong Electric Co (四川長虹).
"We never negotiated with Changhong," said Andrew Chang, an Acer spokesman. "We are not interested at the moment."
The shares of Sichuan Changhong, China's biggest television maker, have soared by a third to 8.98 yuan (US$1.08) since Jan. 1.
The shares fell yesterday by 2.3 percent.
Acer said the home-electronics business in China is very competitive and the computer company already has a very good distribution network in China.
Acer had a bigger-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter as sales tripled.
Profit was NT$1.4 billion (US$422.6). The profit figures were derived by subtracting audited nine-month from full-year unaudited earnings released by the company on Jan. 30.
■ Turkish firm targets Japan
Beko Elektronik AS, Turkey's biggest electronic-goods maker, aims to produce Grundig televisions in the Far East and sell them in Japan.
Beko bought a division of the failed German company last month, the daily Hurriyet said.
Beko and Alba PLC, a UK-based television maker, agreed to buy the Home Intermedia Systems division of Grundig for 80 million euros (US$102.5 million), with the deal pending antitrust clearance.
Grundig filed for insolvency last April after Beko and Taiwan's Sampo Corp (聲寶) abandoned its takeover plans.
In January of last year, Sampo offered to pay nearly US$100 million to buy the 58-year-old Nuremberg-based brand name. The deal, however, fell through in March of last year when banks in Europe refused to underwrite a loan of US$430 million for the purchase of the newly acquired company.
Beko and Alba aim to raise the market share of Grundig TVs in Europe to 9.6 percent in 2007 from 3.1 percent at present and its sales to 1.1 billion euros from 340 million euros, Hurriyet quoted Beko chief executive Ali Hakan Sumerval as saying.
■ NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned weak against its US counterpart on news that the central bank may try to curb gains in the local currency.
A higher rate against the US dollar makes the country's exports more expense in US and China, which pegs its currency to the greenback.
China and the US are Taiwan's biggest export markets.
The NT dollar fell NT$0.001 to close at NT$33.130 against the US dollar yesterday, with a turnover of US$700 million.
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