■ Fubon names new blood
Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), the nation's sixth-largest financial group by assets, announced yesterday that it had invited Henry Lin (林弘立), president of President Securities Investment Trust Co (統一投信), to be president of its subsidiary Fubon Asset Management Co (富邦投信).
Lin will be on board at the end of next month after he hands over his chairmanship of the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association (投信投顧公會), Fubon Financial said yesterday in a statement.
Meanwhile, Fubon Financial made Gang Shyy (史綱) chairman of Fubon Futures Co (富邦期貨) effective Sept. 1, following his previous position of adviser and convener of the real estate securitization panel with Fubon Securities Co (富邦證券), the statement said.
Meanwhile, Fubon Financial president Victor Kung (龔天行) will fill in for Cheng Hui-ming (鄭慧明), who resigned as Fubon Financial's chief financial officer (CFO) after six months of service to be CFO of High Tech Computer Corp (宏達電).
■ Real income falls
Average monthly incomes in real terms continued to slide in the first six months of this year, although at a slower rate than before, according to figures released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
While the individual average monthly wage for the January-June period totaled NT$47,207 (US$1,450) -- up 0.96 percent from the same period last year -- income in real terms amounted to only NT$34,694, representing a decrease of 0.26 percent.
DGBAS officials admitted the modest improvement was not up to public expectations.
■ BenQ suffers again
BenQ Corp (明基), the nation's biggest mobile phone maker, may report a third straight loss after delaying new models in Europe and spending more on marketing after taking over Siemens AG's unprofitable cellphone unit in October.
The net loss will probably be NT$500 million (US$15 million) in the second quarter, compared with a NT$481 million profit a year earlier, according to the median forecast of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The Taipei-based company is scheduled to report earnings today.
"Handset shipments may be lower than the company originally projected as it took longer to customize new mobile models for European markets," said Helen Chen (陳佩君), a Taipei-based analyst with Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券).
The company is planning to stem losses at its handset business by the end of this year.
■ The hunt for `blue gold'
The Water Resources Agency is collaborating with the quasi-official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) to help local companies develop deep sea resources off Taiwan's east coast, resources that the agency views as "blue gold."
So far, three companies have been allowed to start commercial development of Taiwan's deep-sea water resources, which agency authorities believe could be transformed into the country's new "cash cow" using the inexpensive and "always available" resources from the deep ocean.
Agency officials believe that commercial development of Taiwan's deep-sea water resources could generate business worth some NT$18 billion (US$550 million) a year after investments begin to recoup.
■ NT dollar drops
The New Taiwan dollar declined against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, depreciating NT$0.019 to close at NT$32.779 on a turnover of US$800 million.
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New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last