Briefing set on US rules
The Bureau of Foreign Trade will hold a briefing June 27 to inform domestic cargo carriers on the US customs regulations in relation to the Container Security Initiative and the Customs-Trade Partner-ship Against Terrorism, with special focus on the implementation of the "24-Hour Advance Manifest Policy," an official said yesterday.
The 24-hour ruling requires ocean carriers to submit manifest information 24 hours prior to cargo loading at a foreign port for cargo being shipped directly to the US.
A manager of Yangming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) and an executive of Savi Technology, a company specializing in logistics and cargo flow, is scheduled to speak on the new US regulations.
Half-day tours to be offered
The Tourism Bureau plans to offer free half-day downtown sightseeing for visa-free transit passengers via the airport, the bureau's Deputy Director-General Lai She-jen (賴瑟珍) said Tuesday.
The proposed tour includes the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Hwashi Street market, National Palace Museum and other Taipei attractions.
The bureau will also provide a two-day trip for only 49 euros to the same category of passengers from next month through the end of the year, Lai said.
The goal is to give foreign visitors a preliminary look at the country which may hopefully trigger future visits, she said.
Chunghwa sale scheduled
The government, which owns 80 percent of Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), said it plans to sell about 2 percent of the company in a domestic auction next month.
The sale would take place on the same day as a planned sale of a 13.8 percent stake to overseas investors, Post and Telecommunications Director General Tony Teng (鄧添來) of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation said in an interview. The ministry will hold the domestic auction only if the overseas sale is successful, he said.
The overseas and domestic sales would produce a total of NT$79.3 billion (US$2.3 billion) based on yesterday's closing price of NT$52 per share.
J.P. Morgan hired for sale
Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), the nation biggest financial services company, hired J.P. Mor-gan Chase & Co to help it sell as much as US$600 million of shares to overseas investors, bankers involved in the sale said.
Cathay Financial, which owns the country's largest life insurer, will sell between US$400 million and US$600 million of global depositary receipts by the end of next month, the bankers said.
"We think we'll get board approval for the sale by the end of this month," said Lee Chang-ken (李長庚), Cathay Financial's chief strategy officer, adding that the company is still "having internal discussions" on the sale.
ECCT elects new chairman
Dirk Saenger, the general manager of the Taiwan branch of Melchers Trading, has been appointed as chairman of European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT), the chamber said in an e-mail statement yesterday.
Saenger takes over from Hugh Inman, who is to take up a posting with his firm John Swire & Sons in Australia. Saenger has been an active member of the chamber's board and has led several ECCT delegations in meetings with the government, the statement said.
Paul Yang, country manager of BNP Paribas Taiwan, will take over as ECCT's vice chairman.
NT dollar dips
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.023 to close at NT$34.545 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$566.5 million.
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