■ New chairman for AIDC
After having been left unoccupied for five months, the chairmanship of the state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空) was taken Tuesday by retired Lieutenant General Tony Sun (孫韜玉), the first non-air force head of the 35-year-old institute.
Sun recently retired from the position of deputy army commander-in-chief. Previous AIDC chairmen have all been retired air force generals.
Sun is also the first AIDC chairman to be selected from open solicitation.
"I recommended myself for the position. I did not get recommendations from the Ministry of National Defense," Sun said at a swearing-in ceremony.
But the company's labor union showed no sign of support for him. The union said in a press release that it wanted to have a non-military person as the company's leader and that it would ask for a reelection of the board of directors and chairman.
■ Companies raise revenue
Seven state-run companies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported NT$2.35 billion in pre-tax revenues during the first month of the year, rising by NT$791 million from the previous month and achieving 210.2 percent of the goal set by the government, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
Among the seven firms, Taiwan Power Co (台電) topped the chart with pre-tax earnings of NT$1.55 billion, a NT$756 million increase from the set goal, after a considerable increase in sales of electricity and cost cutting. Chinese Petroleum Corp (中油) took the second position with NT$822 million, up NT$242 million from the goal owing to the continuous hike of oil prices. Taiwan Water Supply Corp (台灣自來水), which reported pre-tax revenue of NT$15.5 million, came in the third place.
In the money-losing sector are Taiwan Sugar Corp (台糖) and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, which respectively reported NT$105 million and NT$143 million in losses.
■ Chain Store Corp eyes China
President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), Taiwan's largest convenience store operator, said it plans to set up a drugstore venture in Shen-zhen, southern China, with the first store to open there in the second quarter.
The Taiwan company expects to take at least 65 percent of the US$6 million venture, with Guandong-based Livzon Pharmaceutical Group, Inc taking the rest, President Chain Chief Financial Officer Fred Chen (陳福唐) said.
"We will be taking the lead in the drugstore venture in Shenzhen and that license will apply for the whole country," Chen said.
Amid ongoing talks over the stake and conditions in a venture to set up 7-Eleven stores in Beijing with Seven-Eleven Japan Co, President Chain may refrain from investing in the 7-Eleven Beijing venture as a starting shareholder, Chen said, citing expected initial losses and an insufficient stake of 14 percent in the preliminary agreement.
■ TSMC approves NT$2 dividend
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufac-turing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's largest made-to-order chipmaker, said on Tuesday that its board approved an NT$2 dividend for 2003 in the form of cash and shares.
The company plans to offer a stock dividend of NT1.40 a share and a cash dividend of NT$0.60 a share, TSMC said in a statement. The plan needs approval from shareholders, who will meet on May 11.
■ NT dollar marginally lower
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday traded lower against its US counterpart, declining NT$0.002 to close at NT$33.107 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$915 million.
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