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Tax revenues rise 8.6 percent

Tax revenues in the first 10 months of the year rose 8.6 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.48 trillion (US$45.8 billion), meeting nearly 92 percent of the central government's goal this year, statistics released by the Ministry of Finance yesterday showed.

The ministry collected a total of NT$128.1 billion last month, up 11.9 percent from September, the latest statistics showed.

Income taxes totaled NT$77.7 billion last month, including NT$11.8 billion from individual income taxes, which saw the biggest growth of 137.6 percent from a year earlier. That was followed by NT$12.6 billion in revenues from securities transaction taxes, which saw a 91.5 percent growth from a year earlier, the data showed.

CPI likely under 2% next year

The consumer price index (CPI) may grow by less than 2 percent next year because global crude oil prices are expected to drop next year, an economic planning official said on Wednesday.

Thomas Yeh (葉明峰), vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), said that global research showed that international crude oil prices next year should slip to between US$73.5 and US$76 per barrel -- lower than this year's prices which had surged to more than US$96 per barrel in recent days.

Although the CPI jumped 5.34 percent last month from a year earlier -- the largest single-month increase in nearly 13 years -- Yeh forecast that this year's overall rate would hover between 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent given that CPI growth in the first 10 months averaged a relatively low 1.35 percent.

Tax pact with Switzerland inked

Taiwan and Switzerland recently inked an agreement to avoid double taxation, trade sources said on Wednesday.

The agreement, which was signed last month, is the result of years of negotiations between both sides, the sources said.

As the agreement still requires ratification by the Swiss parliament and approval by Taiwan's Cabinet, neither side has made an official announcement on the signing of the agreement.

The sources added that the agreement might benefit Switzerland more than Taiwan as Ministry of Economic Affairs statistics showed that between 1952 and last year, Switzerland started 164 investment projects that totaled US$507 million in Taiwan, while Taiwan had only 15 investment projects worth US$18 million in Switzerland over the same period.

Baidu mulling China listings

Baidu.com Inc (百度), China's leading Internet search engine, is considering listing on the Hong Kong and Chinese stock markets, the company's chief executive said yesterday.

Baidu.com is already listed on the NASDAQ in New York, but chief executive Robin Li (李彥宏) said Hong Kong and Chinese listings could raise its profile among investors in its home country.

Baidu is also considering an acquisition in the consumer-to-consumer market in China, Li said, but added that the company hasn't set a budget for acquisitions.
Yam warns of HK bourse risks

The head of Hong Kong's de facto central bank warned investors yesterday of risks in the city's stock market, which had suffered sharp falls recently amid fears of a share price bubble.

Joseph Yam (任志剛), chief executive of Hong Kong's Monetary Authority, said the territory's bourse had seen the wildest swings in share prices over the past five months since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

"I want to remind market participants that when the market is performing well ... don't forget to be alert," he said at a meeting with legislators.
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