IT spending to stay firm
Next year, Taiwan's small businesses will maintain a level of spending similar to this year in the field of information technology (IT), focusing mostly on improving their software, a recent survey found.
According to poll results released Thursday by IBM (Taiwan), about 70 percent of Taiwan's small and medium-sized businesses will match their 2004 budget next year for IT facilities, mainly to upgrade their software to improve their information management systems, set up company portal Web sites, improve their electronic working processes and step up security.
The trend marks a departure from last year's focus on building network systems, an indication which an IBM executive said shows that e-solutions are in greater demand in Taiwan.
Conference to begin
The four-day 2004 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference will begin on Nov. 7 in Taipei, with the participation of more than 400 corporate representatives from around the world, Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Officials said Thursday.
Officials of MOEA's Industrial Development and Investment Center (IDIC) noted that the conference, the second of its kind in Taiwan, will be held at the Taipei International Convention Center, and will focus on biotechnology, IC design and information service industries, the three key sectors in Taiwan that have great potential.
According to statistics compiled by IDIC, as of June, the number of confirmed and promised foreign investment projects made following the 2003 Taiwan Business Alliance Conference in October totaled 241 worth NT$147.8 billion (US$4.36 billion).
State-run firms surpass goal
Seven state-run enterprises under the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported a collective pre-tax income of NT$33.63 billion for the first nine months of the year, which achieved 120.7 percent of the goal the government has set for them, according to official statistics released yesterday.
For last month alone, the seven companies posted NT$8.91 billion of pre-tax profit.
Taiwan Power Co (台電) continued to be the largest cash cow of the ministry, seeing pre-tax profits of NT$5.31 billion in September due to increase of electricity usage, followed by Chinese Petroleum Corp's (中油) NT$1.9 billion, Taiwan Sugar Corp's (台糖) NT$1.35 billion, and Taiwan Water Supply Corp's (自來水公司) NT$75 million.
Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空), the only money losing sector among the seven, lost NT$238 million for the first nine months of the year, the statistics showed.
Talent shortage a big problem
The shortage of high-tech talent is expected to seriously affect the nation's development in the semiconductor and TFT-LCD industries, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday, quoting Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, as saying.
The nation needs 1,585 experts with doctorate degrees and 23,193 with masters degrees in the next three years, the paper said, citing statistics compiled by the Council for Economic Planning and Development.
But it is estimated that schools can only supply 1,140 with doctorate degree and 18,579 with masters degree in this period, a shortfall of 5,000 experts in the next three years, the paper said.
NT dollar stays strong
The New Taiwan dollar maintained its strength against its US counterpart Friday, rising NT$0.004 to close at NT$33.866 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
RSS