Business Briefs

■ CPC to raise gas prices
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) announced yesterday that it would raise wholesale gasoline and diesel prices by NT$0.8 per liter as of this morning.
The adjusted retail price for 98-octane unleaded gasoline is NT$28.8 (US$0.87), while 95-octane gasoline will cost NT$27.3, 92-octane gasoline will cost NT$26.6 and top-grade diesel oil will be NT$23.5 per liter, the company said in a statement.
Smaller Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said it would lower its prices to match CPC Taiwan's, effective 2am today.

■ Government to keep shares
The government yesterday said it determined to maintain its shareholding in China Development Financial Holding Co (中華開發金控) as none of its private shareholders reported shareholding of over 15 percent as of 6pm yesterday, the deadline given by the government.
Minister of Finance Ho Chih-chin (何志欽) said in September that if the major private shareholder the Chinatrust Group (中信集團) upheld its promise to increase its stake in China Development to 15 percent four months before its next board meeting and has a clean record of corporate governance, the government would gradually release its shares in the firm.

■ Unemployment drops
Taiwan's rate fell to 3.79 percent last month from 3.81 percent in December on a fall in first-time job seekers, the statistics bureau said yesterday.
The January unemployment figure was down from 3.80 percent a year earlier, the bureau said.