Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) yesterday affirmed its twA+ long-term corporate credit rating and twA-1 short-term credit rating for both Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), the rating agency said in separate statements.
The outlook on these two companies' long-term ratings is stable, Taiwan Ratings, the local arm of Standard & Poor's Ratings Service, added in the statements.
Taiwan Ratings said the rating for Taiwan Cellular reflects the company's leading position in the nation's mobile telephony market, its good operating margins, stable cash flow and satisfactory financial profile.
Taiwan's wireless telecommunications market has experienced significant consolidation.
In July 2001, Taiwan Cellular acquired southern-based operator Trans Asia Telecommunications (
That figure compares with the 35 percent share that state-owned Chunghwa Telecom Co (
In April 2004, Far EasTone completed the acquisition of KG Telecommunications.
Taiwan Ratings expects the consolidation trend will help Taiwan Cellular maintain its leading market position amid less acute competition in terms of tariff rates and handset subsidies.
However, since the penetration rate in Taiwan's wireless telecommunications market exceeds 100 percent, Taiwan Ratings expects the market growth rate to fall below 10 percent over the next two to three years.
Taiwan Cellular has changed its investment policy as regards its shareholdings in Chunghwa Telecom. Taiwan Cellular, together with TransAsia, sold 122 million shares in Chunghwa Telecom in January, leaving it with a stake of 312.57 million shares in its major competitor.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The