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Semiconductors: NEC, Toshiba cooperate
Japan's two largest semiconductor makers, NEC Corp and Toshiba Corp, will jointly develop next-generation memory chips that would reduce power consumption of electronics goods, a report said yesterday. The pair aim to establish mass-production technology of magnetic random access memories (MRAMs) by 2005, replacing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and flash-memory chips, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. They plan to invest more than ?10 billion (US$82 million) by early 2005 to pave the way for mass-production before foreign rivals, the economic daily said. MRAMs are expected to slash electricity consumption and boost the length of time notebook computers and mobile phones can operate on a single battery charge, it said.

Tax revenue: China reports increase
Chinese tax authorities reported an 11 percent rise in revenues in the first eight months of the year, boosted by a steep rise in individual tax payments, state media said yesterday. Tax revenues totaled 1.12 trillion yuan (US$135 billion) in the period from January to August, helped by a 24 percent increase in individual income tax revenues, the People's Daily reported. China has launched a campaign to fight tax evasion among high-income business people, artists and entertainers, with severe consequences for some celebrities. Movie actress Liu Xiaoqing was arrested in July on suspicion of tax evasion amounting to more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million). Authorities have had much less success getting the corporate sector to contribute to state coffers, as income tax payments from local companies rose only 4.3 percent in the first eight months of the year.

Fishing industry: Vietnam battles US move
Vietnam has condemned moves by the US shrimp industry to consider anti-dumping action against its seafood exporters, in the latest challenge to bilateral trade relations between the two former military foes. US fishermen and officials from eight southern and eastern seaboard states met last week to mull a lawsuit against up to 16 countries, claiming they were selling their shrimp exports in the US at below market prices. The shrimpers are to announce within the next two weeks if they will initiate legal action against Vietnam, China, Thailand -- the world's largest shrimp producer -- and other Central and Southern American countries. They claim that increasing quantities of imported pond-raised marine crustaceans have prompted a large decline in the price processing companies are paying for wild shrimp caught in US waters.

Wealth: Gates stays on top
Despite stock market woes that cost him US$11 billion this year, Microsoft boss Bill Gates remains the richest person in the US. According to Forbes magazine, Gates has US$43 billion in the bank. In March, when Gates had US$54 billion in the bank, he was considered the richest man in the world. The new list is in the Sept. 30 issue of Forbes, which publishes the ranking annually. Investor Warren Buffet has US$36 billion and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has US$21 billion). Together, the 400 richest people in the US have US$872 billion -- US$74 billion less than last year.

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