■ Taiwan's reserves down
The nation's foreign exchange reserves last month totaled US$260.35 billion, down from US$260.94 billion at the end of May, the central bank said yesterday.
The central bank attributed the decline to the repatriation of foreign capital.
Foreign investors were net sellers of NT$46.26 billion (US$1.44 billion) worth of shares in June, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
■ Internet phones taking off
Taipei City expects to have 200,000 people using wireless Internet phones by the end of this year, providing a much cheaper alternative to the traditional mobile phones, officials said yesterday.
"This is the world's first Internet phone system using the whole city, rather than a spot, as a wireless operation environment," said Daniel Wongg, spokesman for the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會).
Before the end of nest month, hundreds of elementary and high schools will be installed with the Internet telephony system and 400,000 school children, parents and teachers will be encouraged to use the new system under the so-called "Taipei Easy Call" initiative.
For the 10 companies jointly promoting the highly ambitious initiative, "it also offers an excellent platform for a more comprehensive use of Internet and other wireless communication," Wongg said.
■ Solar energy forum wraps up
The experts who attended the Taipei International Photovoltaic Forum indicated that the demand for solar energy will remain strong in the coming years, with a compound annual growth rate of 22 percent to 35 percent before 2010, according to a press release from the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) yesterday.
The forum -- conducted by the TAITRA -- concludes today, with dozens of top executives of leading photovoltaic companies around the world having attended. The companies included Hemlock Semiconductor Corp in the US, Germany's Q-Cells, Taiwan's Motech Industries Inc (茂迪) and Japan's Kyocera Corp, Tokuyama and Sharp Corp.
A TAITRA spokesman said that although solar energy only comprises 1 percent of global energy generation -- or 1.8 gigawatts -- the ratio will rise to 25 percent by 2040, with a total volume of 9,000 trillion watt-hours.
However, he noted that the growth rate may be curbed by a shortage of raw materials through 2008, adding that since most companies have already started expansion plans, material supply will become loser after 2008.
■ Inotera buys from ASMI
ASM International NV, Europe's second-largest maker of equipment used to make semiconductors, won an order from Taiwan's Inotera Memories Inc (華亞科技) for machines used in processing the silicon slices from which chips are cut.
Financial details for the order for "multiple" so-called vertical furnaces were not disclosed by Bilthoven, Netherlands-based ASMI in an e-mailed statement yesterday. The machines will be delivered to Inotera in the final two quarters of the year, ASMI said.
Taoyuan-based Inotera is a joint venture between Infineon Technologies AG and Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技). The company produces dynamic random access memory chips, the main memory used in personal computers.
■ NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, decreasing NT$0.142 to close at NT$32.390.
A total of US$876 million changed hands in trading.
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