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Business Quick Take

■ Biotechnology
Ground broken on new park
A local biotechnology company dedicated to the development and manufacture of "instant Chinese medicines" kicked off construction on a new factory in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan County yesterday. Tainan-based Kaiser Pharmaceutical Co (港香蘭應用生物科技) is investing around NT$600 million (US$18.8 million) to build the plant on approximately 16,500m2 of land within the park, Kaiser chairman Tsai Chung-yi (蔡宗義) said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

■ Computers
Apple opens new NYC store
Apple Computer Inc, maker of the iPod music player, opened a 24-hour subterranean store in New York City, marking five years in retailing with an outlet built beneath a 9.75m glass cube. Lines of customers stretched at least four blocks outside the Fifth Avenue store, near Central Park, which opened its doors at 6pm New York time. The outlet is the company's 147th and will be the first to stay open 24 hours a day, according to Apple senior vice president Ron Johnson. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, 51, opened the first store in May 2001 and adds a new outlet every nine days, mainly in Japan, Canada, the US and UK. Macintosh computers sold in company stores have a gross margin of more than 35 percent, compared with 27 percent on Macs sold by other retailers, said Needham & Co analyst Charlie Wolf in New York.

■ Eye care
ReNu claim backed in study
A US government health analysis released on Friday echoed assertions by Bausch & Lomb Inc that an outbreak of severe fungal eye infections appears to be linked solely to its new-formula contact lens cleaner. The company's shares rose 3.6 percent. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the results of its case-control study indicate that some of the unique components in ReNu with MoistureLoc make the solution more susceptible to contamination by fusarium, a fungus known to cause blindness. Use of other solutions in the ReNu product line, including the older and more widely used MultiPlus brand, did not show "a significantly increased risk for disease," the Atlanta-based agency said.

■ Automobiles
Kia's US plant on hold
Kia Motors Corp said that legal problems related to a slush fund probe in South Korea are hampering decisions regarding construction of its first factory in the US. Kia, an affiliate of South Korea's largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co, announced in March that it would build a US$1.2 billion plant in West Point, Georgia, that would create about 5,500 jobs. Kia said production would begin in 2009. The arrest and indictment of Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo in relation to a slush fund investigation, however, is having an impact on the project, but has not derailed it, Kia said on Friday.

■ Computers
Dell to use AMD chips
Dell's announcement that it will use microprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices for the first time highlights the struggles of the leading personal computer maker, and could shake up the sector. Dell shares rose on Friday after the hardware giant issued a steady forecast, unveiled a cost-cutting plan and said it would use AMD chips in its high-end servers. At midday, Dell traded up 0.5 percent at 24.07.


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