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China Steel profits up 29%

China Steel Corp (中鋼) said full-year pretax profit rose 29 percent, benefiting from rising demand and prices.

Profit was NT$61.7 billion (US$1.9 billion) last year, China Steel said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.

The company also said steel prices are rising after some rivals cut production.

China Steel, which produces about 10 million tonnes of the alloy a year, typically announces its second-quarter prices for domestic customers in late February.

Rebar, Idee workers protest

An estimated 600 employees of bankrupt China Rebar Co (中國力霸), Idee Department Store (衣蝶百貨) and affiliates protested yesterday at the Ministry of Finance, demanding the government intervene in the dispute between the conglomerate and its major creditor, Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐銀行).

The ministry holds a major stake in the bank.

Kris Mao (毛幼銘), spokesman for the protesters, said the bank already holds Rebar assets and collateral far exceeding the NT$3.48 billion it owes.

They protesters said it was unreasonable for the bank to impound Idee's brand name and trademark, thereby blocking the possibility of transferring Idee's ownership to a buyer.

Protesters said the group has paid back NT$1.6 billion between 1999 to 2006 and the Tungshan River Concrete Factory (冬山河水泥廠), pledged as collateral, is valued at NT$4 billion to NT$5 billion by the court.

Investor confidence down

Asian investors' confidence fell significantly in the fourth quarter last year on the US subprime mortgage crisis, compared with three months earlier, the compiler of the ING Investor Sentiment Index announced in a press release yesterday.

But Taiwan showed the biggest drop in investment sentiment, with the score plunging to 83 points from 134, the release said.

The percentage of Taiwanese investors who believed the domestic economy will deteriorate further rose to 47 percent from the previous 22 percent, the poll showed.

Mosel inks supply contract

Local solar cell maker Mosel Vitelic Inc (茂矽) said yesterday that it had signed a US$150 million contract with Chinese LDK Solar to secure a supply of polysilicon wafers over the next three years, beginning this year, a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange showed.

Mosel planned to start mass production of its second production line in the third quarter of this year.

The company is expanding its presence in the solar cell market, while phasing out its computer memory business.

Hypermarkets fail inspections

The Consumers' Foundation (消基會) said yesterday that it was concerned about the fire safety systems in hypermarket chains because an average of 68 percent of the stores have failed inspections.

Carrefour topped the list with 74 percent of its stores failing inspections, followed by Far Eastern Geant at 70 percent and RT-Mart at 67 percent, the group said.

"In light of the larger than usual number of shoppers during the Lunar New Year, hypermarket operators should control the number of shoppers allowed in the stores and should avoid blocking emergency exits with merchandise," foundation chairman Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said.

NT dollar rises

The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Forex yesterday, rising NT$0.034 to close at NT$32.405. A total of US$1.115 billion changed hands during the day's trading.
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