■ MOF to control cash-cards
The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced a three-tier mechanism to regulate the bad-loan ratio on cash-advance cards, the ministry said in a statement.
Card issuers with a bad-loan ratio that exceeds 8 percent will be suspended from operating cash-advance card businesses, the statement said.
The government will take corrective action against card issuers with bad-loan ratio levels between 8 and 5 percent by requiring them to improve asset quality within three months, it added.
A warning will be given to card issuers with a bad-loan ratio between 3 and 5 percent, according to the statement.
The mehcanism will take effect in late August, the statement said.
■ China Steel may raise forecast
China Steel Corp (中鋼) may post a pretax profit this year of as much as NT$60 billion (US$1.8 billion), higher than the company's earlier forecast, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵).
China Steel plans to discuss raising its full-year forecast at its board meeting on June 25, the paper said.
The company in December forecast a pretax profit of NT$42 billion and net income of NT$33 billion. That compares with a reported pretax profit of NT$45 billion and net income of NT$37 billion last year.
■ China Motor plans new minivan
China Motor Co (中華汽車), which makes Mitsubishi Motor Corp cars in this country, said its Chinese unit will start making minivans, boosting production to as many as 150,000 cars a year in the world's fastest-growing auto market.
Southeast Motor Co (東南汽車), a venture between China Motor and the government of Fujian Province, won government approval to start producing its Veryca model as early as August, China Motor spokesman Hsu Li-min (許利民) said.
The unit plans to make 3,000 Verycas a month, he said.
The Veryca will target China's small passenger and utility vehicles market, which had estimated sales of 1.14 million cars last year, he said.
■ Chunghwa beats forecasts
Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) said pretax profit this year is likely to exceed its earlier NT$17.7 billion (US$524 million) forecast as demand for its products increase in the run-up to Christmas.
Demand in the second quarter was slow in a traditional weak sales season, Chunghwa Picture vice president Liu Chih-chun (劉治軍) said.
"Entering the high season beginning in August, demand for flat-panel displays will rise again," Liu said. "We can even challenge NT$20 billion in pretax profit this year."
■ Tourism down from 2002
The number of tourist arrivals in the first five months of the year totaled 1.13 million, down 7.19 percent from the 2002 level, said officials at the Tourism Bureau.
This year's figures were compared with the 2002 levels since the numbers for the same period last year were anomalous because of the impact of SARS, officials said.
The number of tourists from Japan, Hong Kong and Macau, and the US dropped in the first five months compared to 2002.
The fall in travel was largely due to fears of terrorist attacks, the re-appearance of SARS in March in China and outbreaks of bird flu across Asia early this year, as well as political uncertainties at home after the presidential election, officials said.
■ NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned weak against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.017 to close at NT$33.711 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
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