The six telecommunications companies in Taiwan grossed 57 percent of the overall profits of the service sector last year, with Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) topping the list, according to a report by the Chinese-language Business Weekly magazine.
The report indicates that the business turnover of the top 500 companies of the service sector last year amounted to NT$3.3 trillion, down 8.5 percent from the total of the preceding year.
Business profits of the top companies stood at NT$110.5 billion, indicating a decrease of NT$14.7 billion, or 11.7 percent, from the level of 2000, according to the report.
The fast-growing telecommunications sector enjoyed the best profits, with the six companies -- Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大), Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), Trans Asia Telecommunications Inc (泛亞電信), KG Telecommunications Co (和信電訊) and MoBiTai Communications Co (東信電訊) -- last year earning profits of NT$63.5 billion, an increase of NT$1.8 billion from the 2000 level.
The report lists the top 10 companies in Taiwan in terms of business turnover as Taiwan Power Co (
While business revenues of several traditional businesses declined considerably in the past year, information services and IC channels registered the best performance. In addition to the construction industry, the three terrestrial television companies -- Taiwan Television Enterprise (台視), China Television Co (中視) and Chinese Television Service (華視) -- suffered the worst business setback among local businesses, according to the report.
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