■ National Aerospace in trouble
National Aerospace Fasteners Corp (宏達科技) said it will seek court protection from creditors after stock market regulators imposed restrictions on trading in its shares. Insufficient cash flow may result in the company's checks bouncing and the delisting of its shares from the stock market, National Aerospace said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The company said it has NT$1.8 billion (US$53.1 million) in debt and assets worth NT$3.6 billion. Shares in the firm, which makes rivets and nuts for aircraft parts, have lost 90 percent of their value since mid-August. The stock exchange last month said it would limit trading in the shares to cash-only transactions because of concerns over the company's income statements. National Aerospace said on Sept. 3 it would make a loss of NT$551 million (US$16 million) this year, reversing an April profit forecast of NT$123 million.
■ Foxconn, Juteng offer shares
Foxconn International Holdings (富士康控股) and Juteng Interna-tional Holdings, both Taiwanese technology equipment manufacturers, plan to raise a combined HK$1.5 billion (US$193 million) in Hong Kong share sales by the end of the year, the South China Morning Post said, citing unidentified sources. Foxconn, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), Taiwan's largest listed company by sales, plans to raise as much as HK$1.2 billion in an initial public offering that may receive approval from Hong Kong regulators next month, the paper said. The telecommunications networking and mobile equipment maker made an estimated profit of more than HK$400 million last year, the Hong Kong-based paper said. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS AG are arranging the sale, the paper said. Juteng International Holdings may raise HK$300 million in its Hong Kong share offer in December, according to the paper. The company, which produces casings for computers and other products, posted revenue of about HK$500 million last year.
■ Family feud at Taishin
A member of Taishin Financial Holdings Co's (台新金控) controlling family is disputing the results of an impromptu board meeting held to set the date for election of new members, several Chinese-language newspapers reported. Director Eric Wu (吳東昇) is claiming his brother, Taishin chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮), acted independently in calling a board meeting that set the date for the election on Dec. 3, the anniversary of their father's death, the reports said. Thomas Wu may be investigated by the island's stock regulator for selling shares in Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corp (新光人纖) during a struggle with Eric Wu for management control.
■ Wal-Mart meets in Shenzhen
Wal-Mart Stores Inc will for the first time move an annual meeting to decide purchases of electronics goods to China from the US, a media report said, citing unidentified suppliers of the US retailer. The company was to start the four-day meeting yesterday in China's southern coastal city of Shenzhen with suppliers including Taiwan's Tatung Co (大同) and Sampo Corp (聲寶), the report said. Most of Wal-Mart's purchases will focus on products such as DVD players and flat-panel televisions, which the company expects to sell under its own brand name, the paper said.
■ NT dollar up slightly
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday edged up NT$0.006 against the US dollar to close at NT$33.865 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$430 million.
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
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. However, the charcoal they were making is known as “green,” and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. “Green charcoal” aims to protect what
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