■ Forex reserves at record high
The nation's foreign exchange reserves rose to a new record of US$251.14 billion at the end of last month, the central bank said yesterday. The reserves, which trail those of Japan and China, were up from US$246.63 billion in February and US$242.74 billion at the end of January, the central bank said in a statement. The increase mainly reflected returns from foreign exchange reserve management and substantial foreign capital inflows, it said. The reserves rose for a 45th month from US$247 billion in February, according to the central bank in Taipei.
■ Businesses may go to fair
Taiwanese businesses are welcome go to South Korea's Imported Goods Fair 2005, slated to be held from May 10 to May 13 in Seoul, an official of the non-profit Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said yesterday. It is the third year that South Korea's association of exporters has organized the trade fair to help foreign businesses enter the South Korean market. Last year, a total of 131 businesses from countries including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Holland, Poland and Taiwan joined the exhibition, besides 11 South Korean companies, according to the state-funded trade promotion organization. According to statistics released by the fair organizer, during the four-day event last year, nearly 5,000 people visited the trade fair, and the total value of the deals forged by foreign businesses amounted to over US$12 million, with follow-up contracts reaching US$73 million.
■ CPC denies share-buy rumors
Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油), a state-owned oil refiner, denied a Chinese-language newspaper report that it and rival Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) may buy shares in each other, after state-owned CPC goes public. Any tie-up between CPC and the Formosa Plastics Group, Taiwan's biggest diversified industrial company, would dominate the nation's oil-product and petrochemical markets. "Even if we're forming an alliance, we need the approval from the Fair Trade Commission," said Roy Chiu (邱吉雄), a CPC vice president. Spokesmen at the commission weren't available to answer questions, their assistants said. The government aims to reduce its 100 percent stake in CPC to less than 50 percent in two years' time, Wu Kuo-tong (吳國棟), deputy chairman at the Enterprise Commission said on Feb. 18.
■ CPC continues exploration
The Taipei-based China Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) will continue its oil exploration efforts overseas, as its 2005 budget for the task has been secured at the Legislative Yuan, a spokesman for the state-run company said yesterday. The CPC official made the remarks after the company's budgets for exploration on land and offshore, totaling NT$1.14 billion (US$46.2 million) and NT$1.459 billion, respectively, cleared the legislature earlier yesterday. The CPC plans to keep searching for oil in Australia, Ecuador, Indonesia, the US and Venezuela, the official said, adding that its oil exploration in these countries is estimated to yield some 18.25 million barrels of oil, racking up some US$300 million in profits for the company. The passage of the budgets have come as good news for the CPC at a time when oil prices are again surging in the international market, he said. Although offshore oil exploration carries risks, he said that it helps the company secure supplies of its own and provides opportunities for reaping greater profits.
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