■ Backlight venture formed
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), the country's second-largest flat-panel maker, has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Delta Electronics Inc (台達電子) to make key components for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the two firms said yesterday. Backlights account for the biggest part, or about 27 percent, of the total cost for a 32-inch LCD TV panel, according to market researcher DisplaySearch. The new firm, Delta-CMO Optoelectronics Co (奇達光電), with NT$2 billion (US$61.6 million) in capital, will make LCD backlights based on world-leading flat fluorescent lamp (FFL) mercury-free flat panel technology, according to a statement released yesterday.
■ China lures more workers
The number of people seeking work in China has grown rapidly, www.9999.com.tw (汎亞人力銀行), an online recruiting company, said yesterday. The company, citing its statistics, said that the ratio of those seeking jobs in China increased to 16 percent and 20 percent in January and last month, respectively, compared with around 10 percent in the months last year. Job offers in China were led by the manufacturing sector (45 percent), followed by finance and accounting (21 percent), marketing (18 percent) and human resources (14 percent).
■ NT dollar loses strength
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, slipping NT$0.072 to NT$32.473. A total of US$1.16 billion changed hands during the day's trading.
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