■ Taiwan Cement cuts costs
Taiwan Cement Corp (台泥), the nation's largest cement maker, has cut its borrowing costs by more than 60 percent by refinancing higher interest debt, said Hsiao Yin-yi (蕭英怡), the firm's chief financial officer. The company took out NT$15 billion (US$452.9 million) over five years as arranged by Citigroup Inc and TaipeiFubon Bank (台北富邦銀行). Out of the US$23 billion in syndicated loans completed this year in Taiwan, 45 percent were for refinancing. "We will save at least NT$70 million in interest every year," Hsiao said. "Banks are able to give us a favorable lending rate because we have been focusing on our core business which has strengthened our fundamentals." Hsiao said Taiwan Cement will have more funding needs in the future as it expands in China and the increase in government infrastructure spending will bring in more business. "There will be opportunities in the future for us to work with the banks that have lent to us and with other international lenders as our business grows," Hsiao said. The two arrangers have sold the financing to more than 10 lenders.
■ Chunghwa looks for Web deal
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) is in talks with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to jointly enter the Internet-based IPTV market, the Economic Daily News reported, citing Chunghwa Telecom chairman Hochen Tan (賀陳旦). Chunghwa Telecom may commission Hon Hai to make products used in movie-on-demand services, the newspaper said. Chunghwa Telecom is the nation's largest provider of phone services. Hon Hai is the nation's largest electronics firm by sales. Chunghwa Telecom expects a net profit of NT$44 billion (US$1.33 billion) with sales of NT$187.2 billion next year, the Commercial Times reported, citing a company projection. In the first 11 months, the company's net profit was NT$46 billion, Chunghwa said in a statement on Dec. 8, without giving a year-earlier comparison. For the same period, sales rose 0.4 percent from a year earlier to NT$167.4 billion, the statement said.
■ Locals excel in design awards
Taiwanese manufacturers won 63 iF Product Design Awards in Germany, surpassing Japan and South Korea to become Asia's big winner, according to the Industrial Development Bureau. The two Asian neighbors won 45 and 43 awards respectively.
Only host Germany won more awards than Taiwan in the design world's Oscars, which drew the participation of 1,952 products from 37 countries. Taiwan's BenQ Corp (明基) snatched 13 awards, placing third after Samsung Electronics Co of South Korea and Royal Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands in company rankings. Another shining Taiwanese company was DUCKIMAGE, a design company that won 10 awards in the Hannover, Germany, international forum. Altogether, 688 products were given the coveted iF seal of design excellence. Of these, 50 gold award or "design Oscar" winners will be announced at CeBIT this March.
■ NT dollar rises
The NT dollar strengthened on speculation that some exporters will exchange overseas profits before a month-end bookkeeping deadline. The currency's biggest decline in a week on Tuesday boosted overseas earnings for firms like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). "Exporters are likely to buy the Taiwan dollar before the year ends," said Joseph Lee, a trader at Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行). The NT dollar closed at NT$33.107 against its US counterpart from NT$33.132 yesterday, according to Taipei Forex Inc.
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