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■ Electronics lead TAIEX
Shares rose yesterday, led by electronics shares on hopes of strong first-quarter demand in the technology sector. The TAIEX rose 22.14 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,534.77, on turnover of NT$111 billion (US$3.35 billion). "Expectations for a strong first quarter shored up buying in technology shares," said Stanley Chou, a manager at Barits International Securities (倍利國際證券). "We also saw fund managers buy [chip] testing-packaging stocks before they close their books for the year." Chip-packaging firm Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (日月光) rose 6.2 percent to NT$31, while its close rival Siliconware Precision Industries Co (矽品精密) was up 7 percent to NT$46.9.

■ Retirement age dropping
Taiwanese are retiring younger, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said. Employees in the industrial and service sectors who applied to retire last year were 54.9 years old on average, lower than the 55.7 a year ago, the DGBAS said in a survey released yesterday. The poll on retirement was conducted in March on employees from more than 9,000 companies. The survey showed that about 63,000 people retired from work in the industrial and service sectors last year. Some 32 percent of the retirees were over 60, down from 74.12 percent in 1991, while 51.73 percent of those who retired last year were between 50 and 59, posing a significant rise in comparison with the level of 21.77 percent in 1991. The 50 to 59 age group made up the bulk of retirees in the industrial and service sectors, the report said.

■ Growth in money supply down
The nation's money supply had slower growth last month for the third straight month due to the slackening growth of bank loans and investment, the central bank said. M2, the broadest measure of the nation's money supply, rose 6.1 percent from a year earlier after increasing 6.3 percent in October, the central bank said yesterday in a statement. M1A, which tracks net currency in circulation plus checking accounts and passbook deposits, expanded 6.0 percent last month after increasing 6.6 percent in October, the central bank said. M1B, which excludes time deposits and foreign-currency deposits included in M2, rose 5.4 percent last month, after expanding 5.4 percent the previous month.

■ State firms beat forecasts
Pre-tax profits for seven state-run enterprises amounted to NT$20.67 billion (US$623 million) over the past 11 months, far exceeding the target of NT$7.65 billion for the year, according to tallies released by the Commission of National Corporations under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Of the seven enterprises, Taiwan Power Co (台電) had a profit of NT$3.59 billion; Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) recorded NT$12.65 billion; Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖) had NT$2.62 billion; Taiwan Water Corp (台灣自來水) had NT$1.16 billion; China Shipbuilding Corp (中船) had NT$717 million; and Tang Eng Iron Works Co (唐榮) had NT$1.16 billion. The other firm -- Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔) -- suffered a deficit of NT$1.22 billion.

■ NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar climbed yesterday on speculation exporters are buying the currency. The NT dollar gained NT$0.008 to close at NT$33.098 against its US counterpart, according to Taipei Forex Inc. "There are more exporters in the market as the year end approaches," said Janet Lin, a trader at Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀).

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