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World Business Quick Take

■ Equipment
Chipmaking gear sales rise
Global sales of chipmaking equipment more than doubled to US$3.75 billion in June from a year earlier, bolstered by rising demand in Taiwan and South Korea, two industry groups said in a joint release. Sales gained 107 percent from US$1.81 billion a year, the 11th straight monthly gain, according to the report released by the Semicon-ductor Equipment Associa-tion of Japan and the California-based Semicon-ductor Equipment & Materials International. For the April to June quarter, sales rose 116 percent to US$9.57 billion, the report also showed. Teradyne, Tokyo Electron and other global chip-gear makers reported higher earnings in the quarter ended June 30, as chipmakers boosted out-put to meet rising demand for cellphones, digital cameras and flat-panel TVs. Sales in Taiwan rose five-fold in June to US$687 billion and in South Korea they tripled to US$481 billion. In Japan, North America, and Europe sales more than doubled.

■ Securities
Rules tightened in China
The China Securities Regulatory Commission tightened rules on overseas listings by subsidiaries of publicly traded companies, in a move it said was aimed at ensuring the indepen-dence of units and protect-ing minority investors. Parent companies must have a clean regulatory record and have been pro-fitable for at least three years to spin off a unit abroad, according to a statement by the commis-sion carried in securities newspapers. The rules, which also cover finances, management and share-holdings, may make it harder for listed companies to raise funds overseas as the pace of share sales slows at home. Under the regulations, proceeds from share sales in the previous three years can't be injected into units to be listed. Senior officials of the parent companies must not hold more than a 10 percent stake in the unit prior to its overseas listing, while the assets, finance and manage-ment of the parent and the units must be kept separate, the statement said.

■ Aviation
Record profit for HK airline
Cathay Pacific Airways said yesterday it recorded a net profit of HK$1.77 billion (US$227 million) in the first half of the year on a sus-tained rebound from last year's SARS crisis. But chairman James Hughes-Hallett expressed worries about the impact of rising fuel costs on the airline's revenue in the second half of the year. "Prospects for the traditionally stronger second half of the year appear to be good, although the high fuel price remains a concern, which if sustained could dampen global econo-mic growth and the demand for air travel," he said in a statement. Cathay's solid gains in the first six months were compared with a loss of HK$1.24 billion during the same period last year, the company said.

■ Semiconductors
National cuts forecasts
National Semiconductor Corp cut its first-quarter sales forecast, citing customers trying to reduce inventories and weaker-than-expected orders for flat panel display chips and cellphone parts in China. Sales will fall as much as 5 percent in the quarter ending Aug. 29 to US$543 million to US$548 million from US$571.2 million in the prior quarter, the company said in a statement. The company said orders that it gets for delivery within the quarter, had decreased more than expected.

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