■ Wind power
Offshore generators planned
The government plans to build wind power generators on the seas surrounding Taiwan in the near future after it has installed over 100 such facilities on land as part of efforts to develop renewable energy resources, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said yesterday. He revealed the plan at a forum organized by the Chinese-language Economic Daily News on strategies in the face of soaring oil prices. He said that the government had set the target of 10 percent of the power generated in the country coming from renewable energy sources by the year of 2010. At present, 8 percent of the total amount of power generated in the country is from renewable energy sources, Chen said.
■ Earnings
Hon Hai tops revenue list
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co's (鴻海精密) net revenue for last year -- NT$868.2 billion (US$26.2 billion) -- ranked top among publicly and privately owned large corporations in Taiwan, tallies released by the China Credit Information Service (CCIS, 中華徵信所) on Friday show. Hon Hai topped other corporations for the second year, bringing in NT$100 billion more than the second-place CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油), which reported net revenue of NT$776.9 billion. Other corporations in the top 10 were: Cathay Life Insurance Co (國泰人壽); Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑); Quanta Computer Corp (廣達電腦); Taiwan Post Co (台灣郵政); Taiwan Power Co (台電); Asustek Computer Corp (華碩電腦); Nan Shan Life Insurance Co (南山人壽); and the Bureau of National Health Insurance (中央健保), in that order.
■ Clothing
Chinese collars promoted
Hong Kong fashion label Shanghai Tang (上海唐) on Tuesday launched the "Mandarin Collar Society," a group that wants to "liberate" businessmen from the Western dress code of suit and tie with the more relaxed Chinese collar, a style that was favored by Mao Zedong (毛澤東). The club appears to be a publicity stunt for Shanghai Tang, which makes Chinese-style attire, but founder Raphael le Masne de Chermont says he wants to promote Chinese culture.
■ Beverages
Starbucks eyeing India
Starbucks Corp is in talks with partners in India about setting up stores in Asia's second-largest economy. "We are talking to some of our partners in India about our future," chief executive officer Jim Donald said on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Starbucks submitted a fresh proposal to India's government detailing its plans for setting up a chain of shops in the country, India's Business Standard reported on April 20, citing an unidentified company spokeswoman.
■ Communications
Mobile shipments slow
Global mobile phone shipments slowed during the first three months of the year, but market leader Nokia still shipped more than 90 million handsets, an industry survey showed on Friday. The survey, by research firm IDC, said overall global shipments grew 10 percent during the quarter compared with last year, as market growth cooled. Nokia shipped 91.1 million units compared to Motorola which shipped 45.4 million handsets during the first quarter, according to IDC. The US firm was the only one of the top five to see a decline in sales. Samsung shipped 34.8 million handsets, followed by Sony Ericsson, which shipped 21.8 million units, and LG Electronics with 15.8 million.
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