Foreign investment set to rise
Foreign investment in Taiwan looks set to rise with 256 projects approved by the foreign ministry in the first three months of this year, an increase of 17 percent over the same period last year.
The Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said these projects would bring in US$600 million, including US$167 million to the service sector, US$166 million to the financial and insurance sectors, US$78.46 million to the electronics and electrical appliances sectors, and US$61.44 million to the sales sector as a whole.
Eighty-eight projects by foreign investors were approved in March. These projects will bring in US$308.28 million.
Business gurus meet in Taipei
Wang Yung-ching (王永慶), founder and chairman of the Formosa Plastics Group (台塑), met yesterday with a Chinese business guru Xu Ming (徐明) in Taipei, amid speculation that they are in talks to jointly develop a petrochemical industrial zone along Bohai Bay in northern China.
Wang declined to comment on the prospects for the much-talked-about cooperation with Xu.
Formosa Plastics, Taiwan's largest petrochemical and plastics maker, built in Mailiao the nation's sixth naphtha-cracking plant several years ago before building power stations in southern China which have yet to show any returns on the investment.
Cathay's unit merger okayed
Cathay Financial Holding Co's (國泰金控) yesterday said the merger between two of its subsidiary banking units was approved by the boards of both banks.
The nation's biggest financial services company will combine the operations of Cathay United Bank (國泰銀行) and United World Chinese Commercial Bank (世華銀行) under one entity by Sept. 31, said Joseph Jao (饒世湛), senior vice president of United World.
"The board has decided that one share of Cathay United Bank (國泰銀行) can trade for 0.2808 share of United World Chinese Commercial Bank (世華銀行)," Jao said.
Cathay United and United World together have about 4,000 employees. But no closure for branches are planned for now, Jao said, adding that 81 branches of United World, the nation's tenth-largest lender, will soon merge with Cathay United's 28 branches.
The upcoming relocation plan and the expected high-ranking personnel reshuffle will take more time to complete, he said, adding that seven task forces have been formed to facilitate the merger plan within the next five months.
Bonds may be about to rise
Taiwan's local-currency bonds, little changed, may gain on signs the spread of a deadly respiratory disease and slowing US economic growth may cut the nation's exports and expansion.
China and Hong Kong, home to four-fifths of the at least 3,547 cases of SARS infections reported worldwide, combine to account for Taiwan's biggest export market. Durable goods orders in the US probably dropped 0.6 percent in March, after falling 1.6 percent in February. The US is the nation's second-biggest market.
"The economy is at a bottom and we don't know how long this period will drag because of SARS' impact on Asia and Taiwan's dependence on trade," said Christine Chang, who helps manage the equivalent of US$661 million of fixed income funds at Transcend Securities Investment Trust Co (傳山投信). Chang said more investors are parking their money in bond funds for now.
NT dollar falls against dollar
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against the greenback, declining NT$0.011 to close at NT$34.796 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$243 million.
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