China still biggest export market
China and Hong Kong remained the nation's largest export market last year, taking in 37.8 percent of the nation's total exports for the year, the Bureau of Foreign Trade said yesterday.
Quoting tallies from the Directorate General of Customs, bureau officials said that Taiwan exported US$71.61 billion worth of goods and services to China and Hong Kong last year, up 12.2 percent over the year-earlier level.
Last month, the nation's two-way trade amounted to US$31.35 billion, down slightly by 1.1 percent from the level for the same month last year, with exports totaling US$16.84 billion, up 4.5 percent, and imports amounting to US$14.51 billion, down 7 percent, the officials said.
As a result, Taiwan posted a trade surplus of US$2.33 billion for last month, marking a whopping increase of 359.7 percent over the year-earlier level and the seventh consecutive month of trade surplus increases.
Although crude oil imports jumped by 64 percent last month due to skyrocketing international oil prices, imports of all other categories of products, including vehicles, iron and steel, machinery goods, and organic and chemical products, posted substantial declines, the officials said.
Flights to Mumbai offered
The nation is looking forward to the opening of passenger flight services between Taiwan and Mumbai this year, Civil Aeronautics Administration Director-General Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政) said yesterday.
Chang said he hopes to add a fifth freedom -- the freedom of flying on to a third destination -- to the civil aviation agreement between the two countries this year, as this would make the flights between Taiwan and India more profitable, as they could continue on to European cities.
In light of the fact that China Airlines (華航) has served the route between Taipei and New Delhi since April, 2002, the service between Taiwan and Mumbai, if opened, will be provided by EVA Airways (長榮航空), Chang added.
China Airlines and EVA already operate cargo flights from Taiwan to New Delhi and Mumbai, respectively, as cargo flights are not governed by the aviation agreement.
Taiwan-India body to be formed
A Taiwan-India association will be established on Saturday in Taipei to boost bilateral ties between the two countries, said Lai I-chung (賴怡忠), director of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's Department of China Affairs.
The association is aimed at strengthening economic, trade, parliamentary, artistic and cultural relations between the two countries.
Lai noted that India represents an excellent market and great opportunities, urging the nation's entrepreneurs to diversify their investment in India and increase exports to this emerging market, in addition to introducing high-tech talent from this South Asian country into Taiwan.
Lai said he is not opposed to investment in China if it is beneficial. However, he advised investors not to put all their eggs in one basket and said they should do a thorough study of the markets before making investments.
In addition to India, other South Asian countries also boast potential opportunities for investors, Lai added.
NT dollar declines
Affected by the tumbling local stock market, as well as cross-strait political disputes, the New Taiwan dollar yesterday continued its decline against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange from Tuesday, losing NT$0.119 to close at NT$32.350.
A total of US$1.15 billion changed hands during the day's trading.
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