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■ Bus fares may go up
The Taipei Bus Association is considering a 13 percent hike in fares, citing soaring fuel costs, a Chinese-language newspaper said yesterday, citing the association's secretary-general, Chen Chiung-chung (陳瓊忠). Considering all the increased costs, bus fares for adults should be adjusted from the current NT$15 per trip to more than NT$20, the report said, citing Chen. Considering the Taipei City Government's financial burden, the association may propose to the government hiking prices to NT$17 on Thursday, Chen said. The association represents 12 bus operators in the greater Taipei region. The proposed hike, however, would violate Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) campaign promise that bus fares will not be raised in his term, the report said.

■ China investments approved
Taiwan approved a total of 853 China-bound investment applications worth US$3.59 billion in the eight months through last month, down 18 percent from a year ago, the Investment Commission said yesterday. During the period, the commission approved 705 inbound direct investment applications worth US$2.32 billion, up 0.1 percent year-on-year. China has replaced the US as the nation's largest market since November 2002 despite mounting political tensions between them. It is also Taiwan's leading foreign investment destination, with an estimated US$80 billion invested over the years in various projects.

■ E.Sun could secure investor
Morgan Stanley's private equity fund may invest in E.Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控), which is bidding to buy a government stake in Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), the Commercial Times said. There is no information about how much Morgan Stanley may invest in E.Sun Financial, according to the Taipei-based newspaper. E.Sun Financial is among the bidders for Taiwan Business Bank and has offered to pay about NT$10 a share for the stake, the Commercial Times reported on Sept. 10, without saying where it got the information. Taiwan's government said Sept. 6 it will sell its 44 percent stake in Taiwan Business Bank in stages, as part of a drive to cut the number of local financial holding companies by half in two years.

■ Compal may set up in India
Compal Communication Inc (華寶通訊) is considering setting up a factory in India as clients including Motorola Inc expand in one of the world's fastest growing telecommunications markets, the Commercial Times reported, without saying where it obtained the information. Rival BenQ Corp (明基) is considering forming a research and development center in India, the Taipei-based newspaper said. BenQ on Sept. 8 secured EU antitrust approval to take over Siemens AG's unprofitable mobile-phone unit. Motorola, the world's second-biggest mobile-phone maker, said in June it plans to increase sales of handsets that are priced less than US$40 such as the C115, C116, and C117 models. The models are designed by Motorola and produced by Compal Communications. The US company is scheduled to introduce three low-cost handsets in India next month. India's mobile-phone subscribers increased 55 percent to 52.1 million in the year ended March 31, from 33.6 million in the previous year.

■ NT dollar gains
The New Taiwan dollar gained against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.066 to close at NT$32.684. A total of US$781 million changed hands in trading.

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