■ FSC insists on Wu's dismissal
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday said that it would be overruling China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控) on all types of applications -- including business expansion or investment plans -- until the company follows the commission's previous ruling and dismisses Daniel Wu (吳春台) from its board of directors and the boards of its affiliates, China Development Industrial Bank & Partners Investment Holding Corp (開發國際), and as a board member at China Development Industrial Bank (中華開發工銀).
The commission demanded last month that China Development Financial strip Wu of his positions within one month, as he failed to avoid a conflict of interest during the company's hostile takeover bid for Taiwan International Securities Corp (金鼎證券).
■ Doraemon coming to 7-Eleven
In a bid to grab a bigger share of the summer boom season, two major convenience store chains yesterday launched their latest large-scale marketing campaigns. President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), operator of the world's third-largest 7-Eleven franchise, is offering three-dimensional Doraemon magnets as free giveaways for purchases of over NT$77 (US$2.4) mark.
President Chain hopes the revenue performances by Sept. 12, when the campaign ends, can reach the same level seen a year ago. Last summer, President Chain led the industry by launching its first Hello Kitty campaign, driving sales by 20-percent growth year-on-year.
The effects are expected to lessen as all its rivals have soon followed suit in offering gifts to encourage consumer visits.
Hi-Life International Co (萊爾富), the nation's third-largest convenience store chain, announced a new wave of promotions yesterday with photo frames featuring Maruko, also a Japanese cartoon figure, given with purchases over NT$88.
■ Taiwan main Vietnam investor
Taiwan tops the list of foreign investors in Vietnam with accumulated investment totaling US$7.8 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a report yesterday.
The report said that although Taiwan is Vietnam's main investor, Vietnam is not the top destination of Taiwanese investment in Southeast Asia.
The biggest share of investment monies in Southeast Asia goes to Indonesia. Taiwan has poured in US$13.8 billion into Indonesia, ranking sixth among Indonesia's foreign investors.
■ Powerchip funds expansion
Memory chip maker Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體)raised US$303 million to fund expansion and acquisitions by selling convertible bonds and global depositary shares.
Proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund expansion of 12-inch silicon wafer facilities for a vacant plant Powerchip bought from Macronix International Co (旺宏電子).
■ Foxconn makes phones in India
Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康控股), the Hong Kong-listed unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), said it will begin making cellphones in India in the second half of this year.
The company has already hired 100 Indian engineers, who are now training in China to be the ``seed'' workers at its factory in Chennai, said Edmund Ding (丁祈安), the spokesman for Hon Hai.
■ NT dollar closes higher
The New Taiwan dollar traded higher against its US counterpart yesterday, advancing NT$0.065 to close at NT$32.664 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$725 million.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
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