■ Indicators rise for 7th month
The nation's composite index of leading economic indicators rose for a seventh straight month in March, indicating economic expansion is continuing, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday. The leading indicators rose 0.8 percent month on month in March after a revised 1.1 percent increase in February, the council said. Five of seven index components rose last month, including the M1B money supply, the stock market, the wholesale price index, land approvals for construction, and manufacturing-sector working hours. The council reported that the coincident indicator, a baro-meter of economic conditions, flashed yellow-red for a fourth month in a row, indicating that the economy remains solid.
■ NPL ratio falls to 4.14%
Banks had NT$609.2 billion (US$18.4 billion) of overdue loans at the end of last month, with the bad-loan ratio falling to 4.14 percent from 4.33 percent on Dec. 31, the Bureau of Monetary Affairs said in a statement. The banks had a total of NT$841.4 billion of loans classified as non-performing or under surveillance, about 5.72 percent of total lending, at the end of March, compared to NT$886.6 billion, or 6.1 percent on Dec. 31. The banks' non-performing loan ratio reached a record high of 8.09 percent in April 2002.
■ TAIEX dropped on profit-taking
Shares finished lower Tuesday on profit-taking and investor caution ahead of President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inaugural speech, analysts said. The TAIEX closed down 63.90 points, or 1 percent, to 6,646.80. Decliners outnumbered advancers 649 to 172, with 141 stocks unchanged. Trading dropped to NT$107.70 billion (US$3.25 billion), compared to Monday's NT$108.15 billion. Analysts said investors believed expectations of solid first-quarter earnings for listed companies are already reflected in share prices. ``Investors were not excited that a number of local companies are set to post strong first-quarter results,'' said Jose Lee, an analyst at First Taisec Securities. ``Companies' prospects for the second quarter are the market focus now.''
■ Chunghwa's income rises 20%
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) said net income rose 20 percent as revenue from more profitable wireless services equaled sales from the company's fixed-line business for the first time. Profit rose to NT$12.9 billion (US$390 million) from NT$10.8 billion a year earlier, Chunghwa said in a statement. Sales for the quarter rose 3.2 percent to NT$45.6 billion. Revenue from wireless operations rose 7.8 percent to NT$17.4 billion, and sales from fixed-line services dropped 6.7 percent to NT$17.8 billion. The company said it had 8.1 million mobile-phone subscribers at the end of last month, a drop from 8.3 million at the end of last year.
■ BenQ 1st-quarter profit doubles
BenQ Corp (明基電通), the nation's largest mobile-phone maker, said first-quarter profit doubled on gains from selling assets and increased profit from handset sales. Net income jumped to NT$3.1 billion (US$93 million) from NT$1.5 billion a year ago. Sales rose two-thirds to NT$38.7 billion.
■ NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday maintained its strength against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.018 to close at NT$33.044 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$454 million.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last