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Foreign reserves hit record

The nation’s foreign exchange reserves hit a new record high of US$286.86 billion at the end of last month, up from US$277.84 billion a month earlier, the central bank said yesterday.

The increase mainly reflects a further appreciation of the euro and other major currencies against the US dollar, it said in a statement.

Foreign exchange reserves denominated in these currencies were worth more in terms of the base currency, the US dollar, it said.

Also contributing to higher reserves were a net inflow of foreign capital and returns from foreign exchange reserves management, it said.

President Chain revenues up

President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store chain, yesterday reported consolidated revenue of NT$141.98 billion (US$4.67 billion) last year, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier.

President Chain Store president Hsu Chung-jen (徐重仁) said the company expected its total number of 7-Eleven stores to increase to around 4,900 at the end of the year from 4,705.

President Chain will start operation of Taiwan Rakuten Ichiba Inc (台灣樂天市場), a joint venture with Rakuten Inc, the largest Japanese online shopping mall operator, between May and June, Hsu said. He expects the virtual stores can become an extension of 7-Eleven stores.

Nike factory closed on strike

A Taiwanese-owned factory that makes sneakers for Nike Inc remained closed yesterday following a two-day strike as union officials worked to convince unsatisfied Vietnamese workers that a fair deal had been reached with the company.

Dozens of union and government officials were sent to talk to workers of the Ching Luh factory to persuade them to accept the terms offered by management amid fears of violence at the plant, said Nguyen Van Thua, an official with the Long An provincial trade union.

It remains unclear when the 21,000 employees will return to the job.

Survey looks at retirement

Seventy-one percent of First-Aviva Life Insurance Co’s (第一英傑華) clients with minimum assets of NT$500,000 (US$16,431) said they were saving money for retirement, its survey found.

The survey, which was released yesterday, found that 73 percent of women respondents laid aside earnings for retirement.

To maximize their earnings, 75 percent of survey respondents with more than NT$5 million in assets expressed a preference for investment-linked insurance policies and 26 percent of respondents with between NT$500,000 and NT$1 million in assets preferred the same policies, the life insurer’s survey found. Those who have fewer assets, however, have limited resources to plan for retirement, the life insurer said.

NT dollar ends 11-week rally

The NT dollar fell yesterday, ending an 11-week rally, on speculation that the central bank sold the currency to slow its appreciation and protect exporters as world economic growth slows.

The decline in the currency this week pared the year’s gain to 6.6 percent.

“The currency has gone up too far too fast” for exporters, said Rod Hu, a foreign-exchange trader at Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽). “The central bank intervened to squeeze out the speculators.”

The NT dollar fell 0.1 percent to NT$30.430 against the US currency as of the 4pm close of onshore trading yesterday from NT$30.402 on March 28, Taipei Forex Inc said. The currency may weaken to NT$30.5 next week, Hu said.
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