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Adobe reports 30% growth

Adobe Systems (奧多比) yesterday said that its annual revenues saw year-on-year growth of 30 percent from one year earlier to reach US$3 billion last year.

Its product Creative Suite was the major revenue-generator last year, said the company's country manager in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Ng Yew Hwee (黃耀輝), at a media briefing yesterday in Taipei.

Ng further expressed Adobe's interest in Taiwan market, planning to team up with Chung Hwa Telecom (中華電信) and launch its flash cast services to local users in the coming year.

"Very soon, we will launch the services to Taiwan," Ng said, refusing to reveal the actual timetable.

Taiwan, however, will be the second Asian country, following Japan, for mobile phone subscribers to enjoy the platform services, on which flash images can be delivered.

Railway upgrade approved

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) yesterday approved a NT$15 billion budget to upgrade 155.46km of railway between Hualien and Taitung from a system operated for locomotives powered by diesel to one powered by electricity.

The project, proposed by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), will take seven years to complete the construction.

The MOTC said construction will begin around the end of this year, and will be completed in 2014. It will save passengers about 30 minutes traveling from Taipei to Taitung.

The CEPD estimated the economic benefit of the project at NT$18 billion. As the project will straighten a minor part of the eastern coast railway, NT$250 million has been allocated for acquisition of land and compensation for relocating residents, MOTC officials said.

FAT requests fee delay

The debt-ridden Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT, 遠航) yesterday requested to extend its overdue NT$44 million departure and landing payments to the Civil Aeronautic Administration (CAA), a CAA official said.

The CAA is expected to deliver the FAT a written request today, urging the airliner to come up with a repayment plan.

The CAA and creditors had long been urging the FAT to do so and reveal its actual losses.

In response, the airliner yesterday said that it will cooperate with creditor banks by providing its financial report for the fourth quarter last year, but with a string attached -- they have to guarantee that no information will be leaked to any "outsider."

The airliner also invited certified accountants to help it handle the financial crisis, and plans to swap shares with debt holdings.

Women show business interest

Three-fourths of the nation's women are interested in starting up their own businesses, but the majority of them lack capital, a 1111 Job Bank's online survey found yesterday.

Restaurants, clothing and shoes, tourism and leisure are the top three industries favored by start-up businesswomen, the survey showed, adding 75 percent of polled women preferred entrepreneurship through franchise systems.

However, Beryl Lee (李培芬), general secretary of the Taiwan Association of Chain and Franchise Promotion (台灣連鎖加盟促進協會), warned that the chance for independent micro businesses to survive after three years drops to only 20 percent, compared with that of franchise businesses' 80 percent.

NT dollar falls

The New Taiwan dollar yesterday weakened by NT$0.006 to trade at NT$31.746 against the greenback on turnover of US$778 million.
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