Tax shortfall predicted
Taiwan may face a shortfall of around NT$60 billion in tax revenues this year, judging from the tax revenues in the first four months of the year, a Ministry of Finance official said yesterday.
But if the outbreak of SARS can not be brought under control soon, the nation this year may face up to NT$100 billion shortfall in tax revenues, Nelson Yu (游能淵), deputy director-general of the Taxation Department, said at a press conference.
On Monday Minister of Finance Lin Chuan (林全) told lawmakers that in the first four months of the year, tax revenues from income tax, stock transaction tax, business tax and import tariffs were less than the same period last year.
The ministry has targeted an annual tax revenues of NT$929.8 billion for this year. In the January to April period, the government's revenues from taxes totaled NT$202.8 billion, accounting for only 21.81 percent of the target set for the year.
Takashimaya reopens in Tienmu
Takashimaya Department Store (大葉高島屋) in Tienmu reopened yesterday after closing its doors for four days to disinfect the facility, with customer traffic declining by 50 percent from the past, the store's vice president, Wei Chih-hsiung (魏志雄), said yesterday.
Customer traffic can reach more than 10,000 people per day on weekdays and as many as 30,000 on weekends, he said.
The retailer closed its doors on Saturday after a saleswoman was diagnosed as SARS-positive. To drum up its sales, it has extended its annual promotion activities through June 1, with promotions of up to 88 percent off on selected items, Wei said.
The closure may cost the store up to NT$70 million in revenue, he added.
Quanta to offer new shares
Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子), a maker of flat-panel displays, plans to offer 1 billion new shares to domestic and overseas investors, a sale that may raise about NT$10.8 billion (US$311 million). The company plans to sell 600 million shares in overseas markets publicly or privately, it said in a statement.
Quanta Display plans to invest NT$50 billion to build a plant for television and computer panels in northern Taiwan, local media reported last month, without citing anyone.
The company plans to start construction as early as the fourth quarter of next year, the report said.
TSMC denies China slowdown
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC, 台積電) may be slowing its plans to build its first plant in China because of the spread of SARS, a local newspaper reported yesterday, citing Huang Ching-tan (黃慶堂), executive secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Investment Commission.
TSMC yesterday denied the report, saying the company is on schedule to provide information to the government on its plans.
The commission also rejected the report.
"TSMC didn't contact us to delay the investment plan in China," Emile Chang (張銘斌), a director at the commission, said.
"As far as we are aware, the plan is still under review," Chang said.
The government on Feb. 26 approved TSMC's investment plan to build the nation's first semiconductor plant in China. TSMC chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) said in January he expects the plant to start production by the fourth quarter next year at the earliest.
NT dollar gains more ground
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday continued to gain ground against its US counterpart, rising NT$0.038 to close at NT$34.657 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turn-over was US$440 million.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investment project in Arizona has progressed better than expected, but it still faces challenges such as water and labor shortages, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Yeh Chun-hsien (葉俊顯) said yesterday. Speaking with reporters after visiting TSMC’s Arizona hub and attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Maryland last week, Yeh said TSMC’s Arizona site turned a profit of NT$16.14 billion (US$514 million) last year in its first full year of mass production. “TSMC told me it was surprised by the smooth trial run of the first fab, which has left the company optimistic about the project’s outlook,”
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