TAITRA now recruiting
The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) is recruiting local companies to participate in next year's CeBIT show in Hanover, Germany, next March, a spokesman for the semi-official trade promotion body said yesterday.
TAITRA aims to invite companies to display their high-tech products at 78 booths in a Taiwan pavilion at the world's largest trade show for information and telecommunications technology, the spokesman said.
TAITRA hopes to help local companies explore business opportunities and improve overseas sales through the fair, which is set for March 9-15, in conjunction with its outposts abroad, he said.
A total of 6,720 companies from around the world took part in this year's CeBIT, which attracted 470,000 visitors.
Big sums stay abroad
Local businesses have kept more than US$500 billion in overseas earnings overseas, a Chinese-language newspaper said, citing a government adviser.
The estimate was made by the Financial Supervisory Commission, the newspaper said, citing Paul Hsu (徐小波), a member of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Industrial Development Advisory Council.
That figure compares with an estimate of US$40 billion to US$50 billion by the nation's central bank, the paper said.
Many Taiwanese companies prefer to reinvest their earnings in their Chinese operations rather than repatriate the funds because the government restricts investment there, the paper said.
Money supply growth down
Growth in the nation's money supply slowed last month for the second straight month as foreign investors withdrew capital and locals sent more funds abroad, the central bank said.
M2, the broadest measure of the nation's money supply, rose 6.3 percent from a year earlier after increasing 6.35 percent in September, the Central Bank of China said yesterday in a statement.
M1A, which tracks net currency in circulation plus checking accounts and passbook deposits, expanded 6.6 percent last month after increasing 7.1 percent in September, the central bank said.
M1B, which excludes time deposits and foreign-currency deposits included in M2, rose 5.4 percent last month after expanding 6.3 percent the previous month.
China Steel to cut prices
China Steel Corp (中鋼), the nation's largest steelmaker, said product price cuts announced on Thursday will reduce first-quarter sales by NT$3 billion (US$90 million).
The company will lower the prices of six products for domestic customers by between NT$740 and NT$3,750 a tonne in the first quarter in response to competition from China. The steelmaker's sales will probably be around NT$40 billion for the three months beginning January, a Chinese-language newspaper reported.
"Market conditions are bleak now," said Chung Lo-min (鍾樂民), China Steel executive vice president. "Sales in the first quarter will be affected."
The steelmaker's third-quarter net income fell 9.5 percent from a year earlier to NT$13 billion, while sales climbed 1.9 percent to NT$46.2 billion. NT dollar gains again
The New Taiwan dollar had a second weekly gain in three after stock-exchange data showed foreign investors bought US$1 billion in local stocks this week, a fifth week of net purchases.
The NT dollar gained NT$0.064 against the US dollar to close at NT$33.550 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
"Foreign equity-fund inflows have been supporting the Taiwan dollar," said Janet Lin, a trader at Taiwan Business Bank (台企銀).
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