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EVA to begin Saipan flights
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), the nation's second-largest air carrier, said yesterday it will launch charter flights to Saipan in the Northern Marianas Islands in early April to meet rising demand in the market.
EVA Airways will offer two flights to Saipan every week through March next year, a company spokeswoman said.
"Saipan has been one of the favorite destinations for Taiwan tourists. We are seeing rising demand," she said.

Asustek shares decline
Shares of Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's No. 1 maker of boards that connect the components of a computer together, fell yesterday after the company shelved a venture with smaller rival Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技), cutting off a potential revenue stream.
Asustek stock fell 3.9 percent to NT$78.5 (US$2.38), the lowest finish since Oct. 5, as of the close of trade. The benchmark TAIEX gained 0.5 percent.
The two companies on Thursday said they would indefinitely postpone a planned NT$8 billion venture after Gigabyte customers complained that the joint sales effort would reduce the number of suppliers of the boards.
The two Taipei-based companies were scheduled to have begun selling motherboards and graphics cards under Gigabyte's name at the beginning of this year under an agreement announced on Aug. 8.
Gigabyte spokesman Tony Liao (廖期立) said that distributors and wholesalers of motherboards complained that the company would be absorbed by Asustek, giving the combined companies more pricing leverage.

Electronics association formed
The Taiwan Optoelectronics and Semiconductor Industries Associa-tion (台灣光電半導體產業協會) was officially established in Taipei yesterday, with members vowing to build Taiwan into a worldwide center for the optoelectronics and semiconductor industries.
Addressing a ceremony marking the association's inauguration, Teng Kuang-chung (滕光中), CEO of Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技), which is one of the 14 major LED manufacturers in the association in collaboration with the non-profit Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), said the association would strive to bolster cooperation and exchanges among companies and research bodies involved in the optoelectronics and semiconductor industries.

Biotech alliance sealed
A Taichung County-based biotechnology company sealed a strategic alliance on Thursday with Crucell -- a Dutch company known for the production and marketing of vaccines and antibodies against infectious diseases -- to mass-produce influenza vaccines.
Adimmune Corp (國光生技) Chairman Liao Chih-cheng (廖繼誠) signed a technology transfer agreement with Crucell chief executive officer Ronald Brus.
The signing ceremony was also attended by former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) and Menno Goedhart, chief of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan.
Shih gave the Adimmune Corp high praise, comparing the only human vaccine manufacturer in Taiwan to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world's leading semiconductor producer.
Liao said that his company expects to produce up to 20 million doses of flu vaccines each year by 2010.

NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, decreasing NT$0.047 to close at NT$33.040 on turnover of US$979 million.


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