■ Cabinet seeks lower land taxes
The Ministry of Finance said yesterday that the proposal to permanently lower land-value incremental tax rates was passed by the Cabinet on Thursday, and will be submitted to the legislature for review. The proposal, drafted by the ministry and was submitted in October to the Cabinet, stipulates to cut the land-value incremental tax rates from the current 40 percent, 50 percent and 60 percent to 20 percent, 30 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The tax break initiative was proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who had previously vowed to permanently reduce the land value incremental tax by 50 percent to stir local property market.
■ Bond sales to go toward deficit
The government will boost first-quarter bond sales by two-fifths from the previous three months to help plug the budget deficit. The government will sell NT$150 billion (US$4.7 billion) of bonds in the quarter ending March 31, a 43 percent increase from the fourth quarter, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Thursday. The ministry's Department of National Treasury plans to auction NT$40 billion of two-year bonds on Jan. 4; NT$40 billion of 5-year bonds on Jan. 19, NT$30 billion of 20-year bonds Feb. 22; and NT$40 billion of 10-year bonds March 11, according to the statement. The bond sale plan comes as the government faces a budget deficit forecast of NT$292.9 billion for next year, compared with an estimated shortfall of NT$304 billion this year. The first-quarter bond sale amount is unchanged from the same period this year.
■ CAL denies purchase deal
China Airlines (華航), the nation's largest air carrier, denied a report saying it planned to order new planes from Airbus SAS. Taipei's Economic Daily News reported earlier today China Airlines may buy 10 A340-600s to replace older Boeing Co planes, in an order worth at least US$1.8 billion. The newspaper didn't say where it obtained the information. "We haven't made any decision on the amount and model for future purchases of planes," the Taipei-based airline said in a statement. "We don't have any preferred airplane maker." China Airlines ordered 14 Airbus A330s and 10 Boeing 747-400s in 2002 as it sought to rebuild its reputation, following its fifth crash in 11 years in May that year. The carrier is expanding its fleet as more residents travel and the nation's exports grow.
■ Evergreen founder won't retire
The Evergreen Group (長榮集團), which owns Asia's largest container shipping company, denied group chairman and Founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) will retire on Jan. 1 next year. "The chairman will still be here, although he's fully delegating his authority," Nieh Kuo-wei (聶國維), spokesman for the group, said in a telephone interview yesterday. Nieh's remarks came after the United Daily News reported Thursday that Chang, 77, will retire from the group's main units Jan. 1 next year and will be succeeded by his third son, Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政). Chang Kuo-cheng is currently chairman of Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Asia's biggest container shipper. His younger brother Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒), currently vice president of EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), Taiwan's second-biggest airline, will be promoted to president of the carrier on Jan. 1 next year, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
■ NT dollar up against US dollar
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday gained NT$0.038 against its US counterpart to close at NT$32.19 in Taipei. The turnover was US$73.15 million.
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday fell sharply against the US dollar to close at its lowest level since May 22 amid a massive outflow of funds from the country because of investors panicking over global equity markets. The NT dollar ended at NT$31.580 against the US dollar, slightly lower than its close of NT$31.568 on May 22, after moving between NT$31.5 and NT$31.648 on combined turnover of US$3.062 billion on the Taipei Foreign Exchange and the Cosmos Foreign Exchange. The NT dollar received a significant hit in the morning session, slumping as much as NT$0.173 at a time when other Asian currencies
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is now ranked ninth among the world’s 100 most valuable companies after its market capitalization more than doubled over the past year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Taiwan said in a report last month. TSMC’s market capitalization surged 101 percent year-on-year to US$1.427 trillion as of March 31, the accounting and consulting firm’s 2026 Global Top 100 Companies by Market Capitalization report said. The gain catapulted the world’s largest contract chipmaker from 12th place to ninth in the rankings, and it was the fastest-growing among the global top 10, it said. TSMC was the only Taiwanese company among the top
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported record revenue of NT$416.975 billion (US$13.17 billion) for last month, putting the world’s largest contract chipmaker on track to set a record for quarterly revenue. Last month’s figure surpassed March’s record NT$415.19 billion and represented increases of 1.5 percent from April and 30.1 percent from a year earlier. For the first five months of the year, TSMC generated NT$1.96 trillion in revenue, up 30 percent year-on-year, it said in a statement. TSMC has forecast second-quarter revenue of between US$39 billion and US$40.2 billion, representing sequential growth of about 10 percent and year-on-year growth of about
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