Business Briefs

■ Semiconductors
Industry to top NT$2 trillion
The production value of Taiwan's semiconductor industry is expected to reach NT$1.75 trillion (US$53.35 billion) in 2008 and to top NT$2 trillion by 2010, according to tallies released yesterday by the Industrial Development Bureau. The production of the semiconductor industry was valued at NT$1.12 trillion last year, up 1.72 percent from 2004, said officials at the bureau. Last year, the nation's contract chip-making industry seized a 69.2 percent share of the world market, while the IC packaging industry garnered 44.8 percent and the IC testing industry gained 60 percent, the officials said. The global market share of Taiwan's IC design industry expanded to 21.5 percent last year, making the country the world's second-largest IC designer, they said.

■ State-owned firms
Six firms post huge deficit
Six state-owned enterprises under the Ministry of Economic Affairs recorded a total deficit of NT$33.2 billion (US$1.01 billion) between January and last month this year, the ministry said on Saturday. Although four of the enterprises made profits in the first eight months, the profits were offset by huge losses recorded by Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC, 中油) and Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), due to skyrocketing oil prices, the ministry said. Taipower posted a pre-tax surplus of NT$3.88 billion last month after increasing electricity rates in July, but it still posted a deficit of NT$10.82 billion for the eight months to last month. CPC lost NT$2.98 billion last month and NT$25.37 billion for the first eight months of this year.

■ Piracy
New York passes bootleg law
The US state of New York is further cracking down on bootleg CDs often sold at open-air markets with a new law aimed at protecting artists and recording industry workers. The music piracy law signed into law on Friday by Governor George Pataki makes a Class E felony of selling 100 illegal CDs. That's lowered from the threshold of 1,000, which allowed illicit sellers to maintain adequate inventories without risking a felony charge. The New York City Comptroller's Office estimated the illegal trade cost the city US$1 billion in lost tax revenue.

■ Semiconductors
Freescale agrees to buyout
Freescale Semiconductor Inc agreed to a takeover by private-equity firms led by Blackstone Group LP for US$17.6 billion in the biggest technology buyout ever. The shareholders of the chipmaker will be offered US$40 a share in cash, a 36 percent premium over Austin, Texas-based Freescale's average closing price in the 30 trading days ended Sept. 8, the company said in a statement on Friday. Blackstone, whose US$15.6 billion buyout fund is the world's largest, along with Texas Pacific Group of Fort Worth, Texas, Washington-based Carlyle Group and Permira Advisers LLP in London topped a rival bid by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and other firms.

■ Automobiles
DaimlerChrysler cuts forecast
DaimlerChrysler AG cut its operating profit forecast for this year on Friday, saying it now expects a1.2 billion euro (US$1.52 billion) third-quarter loss at Chrysler -- more than twice the amount anticipated. Shares in the company fell more than 5 percent. The German-American automaker lowered its operating profit forecast for this year to approximately 5 billion euros, based on an expected full-year loss for the US-based Chrysler Group of1 billion euro.