FINANCE INDUSTRY: Over 8,000 people protested in Taipei, decrying tax breaks for mergers and acquisitions and calling for improved protection of employee rights
By Amber Chung
Over 8,000 bank employees yesterday held a demonstration on the streets of Taipei, petitioning for labor rights and expressing concerns over the government's drive to consolidate the financial industry, which they fear may only benefit conglomerates.

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SEMICONDUCTORS: The company said the figure is an initial estimate of damage to a Taoyuan factory, which accounts for about 10 percent of its capacity
By Lisa Wang
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE, 日月光半導體) said yesterday that the fire which broke out on Sunday at its factory in Chungli, Taoyuan County, caused damage amounting to at least NT$4 billion (US$130 million), according to initial estimates.

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By Jackie Lin
The upcoming computer software and applications show is expected to offer tailor-made e-business applications targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the organizer said yesterday.

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BOTTOMING OUT: Reduced inventories at companies that sell electronic goods and companies' forecasts point to a turnaround in the next months, market watchers predict
Asian technology stocks, the region's worst performers in the past year, may rebound as forecasts by companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Elpida Memory Inc show an industrywide slump may be ending.

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Global sales of semiconductors rose 13 percent in the first quarter, helped by demand for chips used in mobile phones and personal computers, the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) said.

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Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車), the Taiwan partner of Japan's Nissan Motor Co, posted a 20 percent drop in first-quarter profit to NT$1.49 billion (US$47 million) from NT$1.86 billion a year earlier, as costs increased.

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Chairman and founder of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團, FPG) Wang Yung-ching (王永慶) said yesterday that currently he has no plans to visit China, and that most of the FPG investment projects around China will go on as scheduled.

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Impacted by a slower economy and the implementation of new accounting rules, only about 20 percent of local companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange reported profit gains for the first quarter, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday, citing statistics from the stock exchange.

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■ Guatemala FTA imminent
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