E-ton inks deal
E-ton Solar Tech Co (益通光能), the nation's second-largest solar cell maker, has signed a letter of intent to sell at least 4 megawatts of solar cells to Romag Holdings Plc, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
Romag Holdings is a UK manufacturer of specialist transparent composites, and sells into the security, renewable energy, architectural and specialist transportation markets.
The letter states that E-ton would supply the solar cells to Romag Holdings from Oct. 1 this year to Sept. 30 next year. But the company did not reveal the dollar value of the sale.
Handsets turn into EasyCards
The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday passed a project to integrate Mass Rapid Transit cards into mobile phone handsets. The plan was first proposed by the nation's largest phone company Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and Taipei Smart Card Corp (台北智慧卡票證公司), the official distributor of the Taipei MRT's EasyCards.
The project aims to develop Combi-SIM cards, which allow consumers to make payments with their cellphones by swiping their handset in the MRT, buses and parking lots, and places that accept EasyCards, the ministry said in a statement.
The Combi-SIM cards can be used in GSM, GPRS and new third-generation telecommunication net-works, the statement said.
Cabinet to freeze loan scheme
The Cabinet has decided to freeze the housing loan scheme after the remaining funds of the current pool are used up, the nation's central bank said yesterday.
The project will retire once the unused NT$13 billion (US$395.1 million) of the government loans -- worth NT$300 billion and introduced in May last year -- are consumed, the central bank said in a statement.
The Cabinet's decision came even though the General Chamber of Commerce (商業總會) voiced its opposition last week.
The association's chairman Gary Wang (王令麟) called on the government to continue its preferential scheme to bolster the property market, that has underpined the nation's economy for several years now.
The government started to subsidize home buyers in 1998 by providing loans charging lower interest rates through selective lenders to stimulate the nation's lackluster real estate sector.
The authority then extended the offer several times, bringing the total balance of the preferential loans to NT$1.8 trillion.
Consortium wins bid
A team comprised of four leading transportation companies has won a bid to build and operate a logistics center in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung County, officials said yesterday.
The Central Taiwan Science Park Logistics Co was formed by Chien Shing Harbor Service Co (建新), T Join Transportation Co (大榮汽車貨運), Taiwan Express Group (台灣航空貨運) and Da Tsun Transportation (大村交通事業).
The company will invest NT$1 billion (US$30.4 million) to build a logistics center covering an area of 66,000m2 in the park and have the right to operate the center for 20 years, according Yang Wen-ko (楊文科), director of the science park.
Beginning on Oct. 2, the company will expand its services to cover customs declaration, ware-housing and transportation, and expects sales to reach NT$500 million in the coming year, he said.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against its US counterpart yesterday, declining NT$0.003 to close at NT$32.909 on the Taipei foreign exchange market. Turnover was US$694 million.
In Italy’s storied gold-making hubs, jewelers are reworking their designs to trim gold content as they race to blunt the effect of record prices and appeal to shoppers watching their budgets. Gold prices hit a record high on Thursday, surging near US$5,600 an ounce, more than double a year ago as geopolitical concerns and jitters over trade pushed investors toward the safe-haven asset. The rally is putting undue pressure on small artisans as they face mounting demands from customers, including international brands, to produce cheaper items, from signature pieces to wedding rings, according to interviews with four independent jewelers in Italy’s main
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