■ Shares hit a two-year high
Shares rose to their highest level in nearly two years yesterday on buying in electronics, paper and construction stocks. The TAIEX gained 51.33 points, or 0.76 percent, to 6,808.50, the highest closing level since April 21, 2004, when the index ended at 6,810.25. Turnover was NT$109.02 billion (US$3.35 billion). Electronics shares rose 1 percent overall, paper shares gained 4.9 percent and construction 3.3 percent. Electronics-parts maker FoxConn Technology Co (鴻準精密) rose 6.9 percent to NT$240.5 after the company issued strong March sales figures of NT$4.45 billion (US$137 million), a rise of 19 percent from the same month last year. AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) lost 1.2 percent to NT$47.90 after Fitch Ratings placed the panel maker's long-term issuer default rating of "BB" and national long-term rating of "BBB+(twn)" on negative watch.
■ No shortage, says MOEA
Taiwan is not suffering from a sugar shortage and the state-run Taiwan Sugar Co (Taisugar, 台糖) can import sugar urgently if the need arises, Vice Economic Affairs Minister Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said yesterday. Taiwan consumes an average of 570,000 tonnes of sugar annually. Taisugar currently supplies around 1,500 tonnes of white refined sugar per day, more than 1,400 tonnes of which is to satisfy actual demand, Chen said. The company also has no limitations on its supply of liquid or B-grade sugars, which are estimated to have a 700 tonne daily demand. Even if there is no shortage of sugar on the market, sugar importers could still be reluctant to sell and are sitting on their stocks waiting for a better time to sell amid high world sugar prices. Therefore, Taisugar should keep an eye on the market situation and make necessary adjustments allowing it to import sugar urgently if needed, Chen said.
■ Tariff for Chinese towels
Taiwan will impose higher tariffs on towel imports from China, the International Trade Commission said yesterday. Details of the hike will be made at a follow-up meeting of the commission, which is under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, scheduled for Friday, the commission said in a statement. The decision came after the commission last month found massive cheap towel imports from China had caused material injury to the local towel industry. Chinese-made towels have taken a 70 percent share of the local market since the nation joined the WTO in 2002. Local towel manufacturers had asked the government to raise import tariffs on Chinese imports to 189 percent from the current 10.5 percent.
■ ITRI to debut eco-friendly car
An energy-efficient car designed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute will be unveiled on Saturday, the Bureau of Energy said in a release yesterday. The bureau said the hybrid car, powered by gasoline and electricity, consumes 10 percent to 15 percent less energy than the national standard and thereby emits less carbon dioxide (CO2), which is blamed for raising the earth's temperature by trapping heat. If 10 percent of the country's cars are replaced by the energy-efficient model, the press release predicts, the country could reduce the consumption of gas by 14,000 kiloliters per year and reduce emissions of CO2 by 35,000 tonnes.
■ NT keeps falling
The New Taiwan dollar lost more ground against its US counterpart, falling NT$0.086 to close at NT$32.532 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$1.06 billion.
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