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Bussiness Quick Take

■CHINA

Economy to grow 8 percent

The Chinese economy will grow 8 percent this year and achieve more than 9 percent annual growth in 2011, Cheng Siwei (成思危), former vice chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, said yesterday. The government’s 4 trillion yuan (US$585 billion) stimulus package is having an effect and will aid a full recovery by 2011, Cheng told a financial forum in Ningbo, Zhejiang. “Only when China’s growth rebounds to 9 percent can we say the economy has recovered,” he said. “The economy will certainly be able to regain a growth rate of more than 9 percent in 2011.”



■BANKING

First Financial raises capital

First Financial Holding Co (第一金控 ), Taiwan’s sixth-largest listed financial services company, plans to raise as much as NT$3 billion (US$91 million) in a private placement of 120 million shares at an issue price of NT$25 each, to boost its capital structure, it said in an exchange filing on Friday. Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), meanwhile, is in contact with four major Chinese banks on possible cooperation opportunities, the Economic Daily News reported yesterday, citing chairman Thomas Wu (吳東亮). The four banks are Bank of China Ltd (中國銀行), Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (中國工商銀行), China Construction Bank Corp (中國建設銀行) and Bank of Communications Co (交通銀行).



■BANKING

Five US banks seized

Five US banks with total assets of about US$1.04 billion were seized by regulators, pushing this year’s tally of failures to 45 as a recession drives up unemployment and home foreclosures. Community Bank of West Georgia, in Villa Rica, Georgia; Neighborhood Community Bank of Newnan, Georgia; Horizon Bank of Pine City, Minnesota; MetroPacific Bank of Irvine, California; and Mirae Bank of Los Angeles were closed on Friday by state regulators, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said.



■ELECTRONICS

Sony to open R&D centers

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc intends to set up research and development centers in Taiwan to work with Taiwanese companies to develop game products for its gaming consoles, the Chinese-language Commercial Times reported yesterday, citing unnamed sources. The paper said Sony would hold a press conference with the Ministry of Economic Affairs tomorrow to make the formal announcement.



■TOURISM

Longwaytour calls it quits

Longwaytour Travel Service Ltd (明泰旅行社), a Taipei-based travel agency that focused on Southeast Asia and Russia formally shut down earlier this month because of financial difficulties, the Central News Agency reported on Friday, citing unnamed employees. The report said the 20-year-old travel agency has incurred debt of more than NT$10 million, including NT$8 million in late payments to airline companies and NT$1 million for employee salaries.



■COMPUTERS

Court rules against IBM

IBM Corp won’t be able to block its former mergers and acquisitions chief from working at rival Dell Inc while a lawsuit against the executive works its way through the courts. A US federal judge on Friday rejected IBM’s request for a preliminary injunction against David Johnson. IBM is suing Johnson, claiming he violated a noncompete agreement by taking the job at Dell. IBM argues that Johnson has trade secrets of IBM’s that he could use to help Dell.


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