Economic index drops
The index of leading indicators fell last month from a month earlier, showing cautious sentiment towards the economic outlook for the next six months, the Council for Economic Planning and Devel-opment said yesterday.
The March index of indicators stood at 99.3 points, down from a revised 100.1 points for February, the council said.
Out of the seven leading indicators last month, wholesale prices, orders placed to the local manufacturing sector, M1B money supply, export value and stock prices fell. However, the average monthly working hours in the manufacturing sector and housing start applications during the month improved.
The council said last month's composite indicator stood at 17 points, compared with a revised 22 points in February. The composite indicator came in a "yellow-blue light" level, showing slower economic activities.
Taisugar to decide on stores
Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar, 台糖) will decide today that which convenience chain would like to takeover its 124 "Million" (蜜鄰超市) stores nationwide, Lin Chung-hung (林重宏), vice president of the state-run company, said yesterday.
The company will reach a final decision after it holds a board meeting today, Lin said. Taisugar is in talks with President Chain Store Corp (統一超商) which operates more than 3,000 7-Eleven stores, Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利) which manages around 1,200 outlets, and Hi-Life International Co (萊爾富) which has 600-plus stores, he added.
Taisugar chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) said last month that the company would shut down its retail business as the outlets were generating growing losses.
A local newspaper yesterday reported that "Million" outlets reported losses of NT$2 billion over the last two years and FamilyMart has agreed to takeover 50 stores.
Teco slows China investment
Teco Electric & Machinery Co (東元電機), the nation's largest maker of industrial motors, may slowdown a planned NT$1 billion investment in China on concern about the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, chairman Theodore Huang (黃茂雄) said yesterday.
"We may slowdown the plan but not move the project to the Subic Bay industrial park in the Philippines," Huang said, dismissing a local newspaper report that the company will cancel a project to make air conditioners in China.
Teco planned to join the project with Whirlpool Corp and Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
ProMOS forecasts huge loss
ProMOS Technologies Inc (茂德科技), the country's second-largest maker of computer-memory chips, changed its forecast for this year to a NT$1.1 billion (US$31.5 million) loss from a pretax profit on weaker than expected prices. It earlier forecast a full-year pretax profit of NT$556 million.
ProMOS cut its expectation for sales this year to NT$22.3 billion from N$26.3 billion, the company said in a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Chunghwa posts Q1 drop
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) posted a 13.6 percent year-on-year fall in net profit for the first quarter of this year in reflection of higher operating costs including marketing expenses, the company said yesterday.
In the January-March period, Chunghwa Telecom reported NT$10.8 billion (US$309 million) in net profit, compared with NT$12.5 billion a year earlier.
NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded higher against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.006 to close at NT$34.938 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$654 million.
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