■ Lehman Brothers adjusts GDP
Lehman Brothers Inc, a multinational investment bank, yesterday lowered its projection for Taiwan's economic growth for this year to 5.5 percent from previous 6 percent as China's stringent measures to cool off its overheating economy will drag down most Asian economies except Japan. Lehman Brothers said it is still looking for the strong recovery in Taiwan's economy to grow 5.7 percent year on year in the first quarter due to strong overseas demand and relatively weak local currency. Taiwan reported a 5.2 percent rise in GDP in the final quarter of last year. The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics is scheduled to release its quarterly and yearly GDP forecast for the nation tomorrow.
■ CAL to open new route to US
China Airlines (華航) is scheduled to launch its new Taipei-Seattle-Houston flight service on June 22, making it the first Taiwanese carrier to serve the southern US market. The new thrice-weekly flights to Seattle and Houston will help increase the number of US destinations to eight, the company said in a statement yesterday. CAL currently lies to Guam, Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Anchorage. As CAL also cooperates with Delta Air Lines on code-sharing, it extends the airlines' network coverage to 12 US destinations, the statement added.
■ Combo card for Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行) launched multi-functional Rich Combo Cards yesterday, which is said will provide safety and convenience for its some 1.8 million savings-account customers. The bank's announcement marked its effort to convert current magnetic credit cards into integrated-circuit (IC) ones to resolve the increasingly severe problems of card fraud in this country. Cooperating with MasterCard International to launch the cards, the bank said the new products offer various functions including credit, cash-withdrawal, smart debit, and value stored.
The combo cards also allow their cardholders to enjoy low revolving interests on credit cards, preferential interest rates in house loans and low handling fees in cash advances.
■ Taiwan to host IOSCO meeting
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has okayed Taiwan hosting an international seminar on emerging securities market development next year, Securities and Futures Commission Chairman Ding Kung-hwa (丁克華) said yesterday. Taiwan obtained the right to host the seminar following its signing of a memorandum of understanding on securities cooperation with Australia to step up two-way interaction with other IOSCO member states. The memorandum was signed last year in South Korea, Ding said. The seminar is scheduled to be held next February, coinciding with the 2005 Lantern Festival so that participants could have the opportunity to see one of the country's major festivals, Ding said.
■ IKEA Gourmet Taipei to open
The Swedish furniture retail chain IKEA plans to launch an international food and wine festival tomorrow at the Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Hall II, the company said in a statement yesterday. The three-day festival -- IKEA Gourmet Taipei -- will feature more than 100 restaurants and wine producers. Chef Edouard Loubet from France and a number of Taiwanese chefs will demonstrate Western and Asian cooking, the statement said. Entrance fee is NT$150 for adults and NT$100 for students and military personnel. The exhibition run from tomorrow to Sunday from 10am to 6pm.
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