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■ LCD stocks lead shares higher
Shares rose yesterday as liquid crystal display panel stocks gained ground on suspected buying by government funds. The TAIEX rose 14.85 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,945.05, on turnover of NT$55.11 billion (US$1.66 billion). The index has dropped about 2 percent in the last three sessions, with foreign investors dumping shares on worries about weakness in the local currency, the New Taiwan dollar. The NT dollar's depreciation has prompted foreign investors to sell a net NT$21.71 billion (US$652.23 million) worth of local shares in the past three sessions. Despite the main board's rise, analysts said the continued thin trading value indicates confidence hasn't been restored.

■ S&P to up Taiwan Ratings stake
Standard & Poor's said it will increase its stake in Taiwan Ratings Corp (中華信評) to 51 percent by buying shares from Taiwanese investors. "This is a major step forward in Standard & Poor's strategy for growth in Asia," Tom Schiller, the company's executive managing director for Asia Pacific, said in a statement. S&P expects the closer partnership will further enhance the transparency and efficiency of the Taiwan capital market for investors, and facilitate new opportunities for capital raising for Taiwan issuers, Schiller said. S&P, which has been a 50 percent shareholder since Taiwan Ratings was founded in 1997, said the purchase of an extra 1 percent will be completed next month. No financial details were provided.

■ BASF eyes China market
BASF AG, the world's biggest chemical company, said it aims to make China account for 10 percent of global sales and earnings by 2010, taking advantage of rising demand in the fastest-growing major economy. By 2015, 50 percent of BASF's Asian business will come from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, board member Andreas Kreimeyer said yesterday. The company plans to invest about 20 percent of its group capital expenditure in Asia "over the next few years," he said. BASF may invest US$1.2 billion by 2009 in Asia, with "a major part" of that in China. "In 2015, China will still be a net importer of chemicals, which means there are opportunities for products from BASF," Chairman Juergen Hambrecht told reporters in China's eastern city of Nanjing.

■ Uni-President may list in HK
Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), the nation's biggest food company, may sell shares in its China food business and list it in Hong Kong to raise funds for expansion said company spokesman Simon Hung (洪士民). Uni-President has invested US$350 million in China's food industry since 1991 through President Enterprises (China) Investment Co. Ltd, Hung said. The company makes and markets instant noodles, beverages, edible oils and meat products in the world's most populous country. "We are studying the feasibility of listing our China food business in Hong Kong,"Hung said in a telephone interview, "There's no concrete timetable at this moment."

■ NT dollar drops to new low
The New Taiwan dollar fell to the weakest against its US counterpart in almost 11 months after foreign investors sold local shares, spurring speculation funds will continue to flow out. The NT dollar fell for a fifth day on concern fund managers abroad are shifting out cash as rising oil prices threaten to slow economic growth. The local currency closed NT$0.082 lower at NT$33.282 against its US counterpart on the Taipei foreign exchange market. It traded as low as NT$33.305, the weakest since Nov. 4.

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