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German painter Matuschka applies body paint to a woman on a stand featuring his custom-painted coffins at an international trade show for the funeral arts at Le Bourget near Paris on Friday. About 220 companies promoted their products and services at the show. PHOTO: REUTERS

■ OIL INDUSTY
Value of oil imports soars
The value of Taiwan's crude oil imports totalled NT$480.5 billion (US$14.36 billion) in the first 10 months of the year, with an annual growth rate of 37.7 percent, according to figures released yesterday by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). The surge was mainly caused by rising oil prices in the international market and the fact that the Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) activated its crude oil refinery, DGBAS officials said. The report also said that wholesale prices of crude oil recorded an annual growth of 33.5 percent in the January-October period. Although much more money was spent in the purchase of crude oil from overseas in the past 10 months, local businesses were also benefited by exporting more oil products during the same time. The DGBAS said that in the first 10 months of this year, aircraft fuel worth NT$49.9 billion was shipped to foreign buyers, registering an annual growth rate of 94.1 percent.

■ TRADE
Thailand, China to barter
Thailand and China have agreed to barter US$25 million worth of Thai rice for seven Chinese trains after a similar deal involving longan fruit ended in scandal, the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA) reported yesterday. The new barter arrangement was reached on Friday between the Thai government and China's CNR Company, replacing a previous deal to barter Thailand's 2003-2005 dried longan stock for the Chinese locomotives. Under the previous agreement, CNR Co was to import three years worth of dried Thai longan crop by Jan. 31 next year, but failed to do so because the stock mysteriously disappeared. No one has yet taken responsibility.

■ AIRLINES
United wants new staff
United Airlines said on Friday it plans to hire 2,000 flight attendants in the coming year, the first time it has added to its flight attendant ranks in four years. The announcement comes less than three months before United, a unit of UAL Corp, wants to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and demonstrates its intent to expand next year after a three-year restructuring. "We have essentially completed our restructuring, and we are in a much better position to compete," said Pete McDonald, executive vice president and chief operating officer. United first released the information on Thursday to several newspapers as part of a marketing campaign. The second-largest US airline finished recalling furloughed attendants last month and has 15,500 on active duty, said Jane Allen, senior vice president of onboard service. Allen told the New York Times and Wall Street Journal that new attendants' salary is expected to start between US$23,000 and US$24,000 a year.

■ JAPAN POST
Banker to lead privatization
The Japanese government on Friday announced that Yoshifumi Nishikawa, the former president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, will lead preparation of the privatization of Japan's mammoth postal corporation. The privatization begins in October 2007. Nishikawa, 67, will head a team of executives at a firm that will become the holding company for the new postal corporation. The privatized Japan Post would manage more than ¥300 trillion (US$2.54 billion) of funds in postal savings and life insurance products, surpassing the size of all deposits combined for Japan's three biggest banks. The privatization process is set to be completed by 2017.

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