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Business Quick Take

■ INNOVATION

Computex awards planned

The first-ever Computex Taipei design and innovation awards will be presented ahead of Computex Taipei 2008, one of the world’s leading information technology shows in the world, to be held from June 3 to June 7. The winners of the awards, presented by the International Forum Design GmbH (iF), will be announced on June 2, on the eve of the 2008 Computex. The Taiwan External Trade and Development Council (TAITRA), which is organizing the exhibition, said awards will be presented in several categories, including IT products, components and parts, computer systems, computer peripheral equipment, optoelectronic displays and audio and visual equipment. A total of 17 finalists have been chosen from among 143 entries.



■ CHINA

Shanghai to watch sales

Shanghai Stock Exchange, operator of China’s biggest bourse, pledged to crack down on illegal sales of previously locked-up shares to ease investors’ concerns about a flood of stocks entering the market. “Severe punishments will be implemented if holders are found breaching the rules,” Zhang Yujun (張育軍), the exchange’s president, said yesterday at the Lujiazui Financial Forum in Shanghai. The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges have both found sales that violated regulations, he said. China’s securities regulator last month tightened the rules for the sale of locked-up shares to help revive the country’s stock market, which has plunged 27 percent this year.



■ COMPUTING

Microsoft appeals fine

Microsoft Corp on Friday said it has appealed a US$1.39 billion fine imposed in February by the European Commission for failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust order. Spokesman Jack Evans said Microsoft filed an application with the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg to annul the Commission’s decision. The fine had marked the tentative end to a long-running fight between the EU and Microsoft, triggered by a 1998 complaint by Sun Microsystems Inc. It alleged Microsoft was refusing to supply information that servers need to work with Windows operating system.



■ AUTOMOBILES

Nissan enters battery deal

Nissan Motor Co and NEC Corp will join forces in the world’s first mass production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles, a newspaper said yesterday. The two companies plan to spend ¥20 billion (US$194 million) to build a plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, the Nikkei Shimbun business daily said. Production will begin early next year under Automotive Energy Supply Corp (AESC), an equally owned joint venture Nissan and NEC established in April of last year, the newspaper said.



■ AVIATION

Boeing to delay orders

Two of Boeing Co’s new 787 jetliner customers, International Lease Finance Corp and Air Canada, disclosed on Thursday that they now expect delivery delays of two years or more, stories published in the Seattle Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said on Friday. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the parent of ILFC, the biggest customer for the 787 with 74 on order, said its planes will be delayed “an average in excess of 27 months per aircraft and span across ILFC’s entire order.” After reporting earnings, Air Canada said it, too, expects delays of 24 to 30 months. Air Canada has 37 jets on order.
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