■ Investors eye HSIP
Fueled by an encouraging domestic economic outlook, a large amount of investment has flooded into the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP) in northern Taiwan, the park's administration director James Lee (李界木) said yesterday. Lee said that investments of NT$23.9 billion (about US$725 million) expected to be injected into the HSIP by 12 companies was approved by the administration in the first quarter, an increase of 795 percent from a year ago. In addition, applications for capital increment worth NT$3.76 billion by nine companies which are already operating at the park were also approved by the administration, marking a 241.8 percent growth over the year before, Lee said. Other investment projects worth about NT$10.9 billion raised by another 46 companies are awaiting approval, he said. However, Lee pointed out that demand to open up shop in the science-based industrial parks in northern, central and southern Taiwan is high, creating space problems at these compounds, which have been doing their best to lure investments in recent years.
■ Microsoft, TSMC team up
Microsoft Corp, the US software giant, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world's largest made-to-order chipmaker, said yesterday that they will team up in the production of future Xbox game consoles. Under the partnership, TSMC will provide semicondctor manufacturing services for Microsoft's future Xbox products. This agreement will also help expand an ongoing relationship between the two companies by providing Microsoft with direct, collaborative access to TSMC's advanced semiconductor process technologies, TSMC said in a statement. "Microsoft's future Xbox products and services will require leading-edge semiconductor technologies," said Rick Tsai (蔡力行), president of TSMC.
■ IT companies to Saudi Arabia
Eighteen Taiwanese computer and information technology companies have registered to take part in the 2004 GITEX computer expo scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from April 18 to April 22, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry is assisting the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) to facilitate the Taiwanese manufacturers' participation in the GITEX, said King Yu (游金榮), deputy director of the ministry's department of economic and trade affairs. Saudi Arabia is the largest market of IT products in the Middle East, absorbing some US$4.6 billion worth of IT products last year, which was 40 percent of the entire IT market in that part of the world the previous year, Yu said.
■ AU's sales rise
AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the nation's largest maker of flat-panel displays used in computers and televisions, said sales last month rose 119 percent from a year ago to NT$13.9 billion (US$422 million). Sales rose from NT$6.4 billion in March last year and NT$12.5 billion in the previous month. On Monday, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), the country's No. 3 maker of flat panel displays, said its March sales hit an all-time high of NT$11.01 billion. March sales rose by 5.6 percent from NT$10.42 billion in February, but represented a 92.2 percent increase from a year ago, the company said.
■ NT dollar lower
The New Taiwan dollar remained weak against its US counterpart, dropping by NT$0.041 to close at NT$32.990 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$665 million.
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