■ Airlines buy up Xiamen cargo
The nation's two largest carriers, China Airlines (華航) and EVA Airways (長榮航空), have joined two local companies in taking a 49 percent stake in Xiamen International Airport Air Cargo Terminal Ltd (廈門國際航空港貨運站公司) in south-eastern China. This marks the second cross-strait venture in cargo operations despite a lack of direct air links between the two sides. CAL said in a statement it has invested NT$1.65 million for a 12 percent share in the new firm. EVA Airways and Far East Air Transport Corp (遠東航空) have each taken 12 percent of the company and Taiwan Airport Service Co (台勤公司) bought a 13 percent stake. The remaining 51 percent is owned by the Xiamen City Government.
■ Export growth slows
Export growth slowed to 19.2 percent last month, down from 20 percent in August, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. Import growth last month also slowed to 29.4 percent to US$14.21 billion, compared with the 33.7 percent increase to US$13.9 billion in August. The September trade surplus fell 52.2 percent year-on-year to US$750 million, while for the nine months period, it stood at US$6.37 billion, down 49 percent. Exports during the nine months to September rose 24.2 percent year-on-year to US$128.29 billion, with imports up 34.3 percent to US$121.92 billion. Last month, exports to Hong Kong and China totalled US$5.45 billion, or 36.4 percent of the nation's total shipments, with those to the US worth US$2.45 billion or 16.4 percent of the total. Exports to Europe stood at US$1.89 billion, or 12.6 percent, with Southeast Asian nations taking US$1.77 billion or 11.8 percent.
■ Corning expands LCD plant
Corning Inc, the world's largest maker of glass used in flat-panel televisions and computer dis-plays, said it will spend US$326 million to expand a liquid-crystal-display (LCD) factory under construction in Taichung. The funds will be used for the second phase of the LCD glass substrate plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park, the Corning, New York-based company said in a statement. The first phase was approved in July. Global LCD sales will increase 50 percent this year to US$36 billion for panels measuring 10 inches diagonally and larger, researcher DisplaySearch has said.
■ Taiwan market betters S Korea
Taiwan's stock market will outperform South Korea's in the next 12 months because of stronger economic growth and a possible increase in fund flows, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc's (MSCI) regional equity strategist Adrian Mowat said at a conference in New York. Rising employment is fueling consumer demand in Taiwan. The nation's jobless rate fell to a three-year low of 4.4 percent in August. In contrast, Koreans are spending less after a credit binge left many unable to meet interest payments. A scheduled increase of Tai-wan's weighting in MSCI's global indexes also helped to bolster the outlook for the island's stocks, Mowat said. MSCI said Taiwan would account for 20 percent, the largest market represented in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index next year, based on market value on June 2. Local companies have 55 percent of their market value rep-resented in the indexes. MSCI said it will increase that to 75 percent at the close of trading on Nov. 30, and to 100 percent next May 31.
■ NT dollar slightly up
The New Taiwan dollar gained NT$0.012 against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday on a turnover of US$580 million.
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