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Business Quick Take

■ Manufacturing
Sales volumes skyrocket
The sales volumes of Taiwan's manufacturing sector totaled NT$7.1 trillion (US$216 billion) in the first eight months of this year, marking a growth of 10.1 percent over the same period of last year, according to statistics released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics. By sector, information technology products and electronic components reached NT$2.7 trillion; followed by chemical products at NT$1.92 trillion; metal and machinery products at NT$1.71 trillion and daily necessities or consumer products at NT$764.8 billion, according to the statistics. The manufacturing sector's direct export ratio climbed to 48.4 percent, up 2.3 percent over the same period of last year, according to the statistics.

■ Software
CMMI certification rising
The number of Taiwanese software manufacturers obtaining capability maturity model integration (CMMI) certification is expected to increase to 70 by the end of next year, which would make Taiwan the country with the fifth most CMMI-certified companies in the world, Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) officials said yesterday. As of the end of last month, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has guided 68 local software manufacturers to adopt the CMMI system, CEPD officials said. Forty-four manufacturers have passed CMMI certification so far, with Taiwan being the country with the ninth most CMMI-certified companies in the world, the officials said.

■ Trade
PRC surplus to hit US$150bn
China's annual trade surplus is set to reach US$150 billion this year, bursting past last year's record US$109.8 billion as the country's exports continue to surge, a government report said. The report by the Commerce Ministry said exports were likely to hit US$960 billion by the end of this year, a 26 percent increase on last year. Imports were likely to reach US$810 billion, a jump of 22 percent, the China Daily said on Saturday, citing the report. This week China posted a record trade surplus of US$23.8 billion for last month.

■ Internet
Blogs touted for advertising
Blogs are becoming a force to be reckoned with as a means of advertising products, according to a survey. An Ipsos MORI poll found that the Internet journals are a more trusted source of information than TV advertising or e-mail marketing. But among their European counterparts, Britons are the least switched on to web logs. The French are far more savvy, the survey of 2,200 Europeans found. About 90 percent of people surveyed there said they were familiar with blogs, nearly twice as many as the number of Britons interviewed (50 percent).

■ Trade
China talks to tackle `gaps'
The EU's trade chief said yesterday that new talks with China next year would tackle "gaps" in Beijing's efforts to dismantle trade barriers and protect intellectual property rights. "We are satisfied China is implementing the bulk of its WTO accession commitments, but there are gaps," said Peter Mandelson, concluding a week-long visit here. Mandelson met on Friday with China's Vice Premier Wu Yi (吳儀), a former trade minister, and said the two sides agreed on talks starting in January, focusing first on updating a 1985 investment agreement.


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