China Air offers direct flights
China Airlines (華航), Taiwan's largest carrier, said yesterday it and unit Mandarin Airlines (華信航空) will launch four round-trip direct charter flights to China between Friday and Tuesday next week for the Dragon Boat Festival.
The two carriers will fly to Shanghai from Taipei and southern Kaohsiung on the charter services during the period, a company spokesman said.
Securities on sale
Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) will sell as much as NT$30 billion (US$909 million) in mortgage-backed securities this year to reduce its proportion of home loans amid a recovery in the property market.
"We need to offload some of the house loans to make room for further lending," Chen An-hsiung (陳安雄), president of Taipei-based Taiwan Cooperative, the nation's second-largest bank by assets, said yesterday.
Taiwan Cooperative's home loans have climbed to NT$430 billion, or 29 percent of deposits, from NT$410 billion at the end of January, Chen said.
Chang Hwa chief resigns
Chang Hwa Commercial Bank (彰化銀行) chairman Chang Po-shin (張伯欣) unexpectedly resigned all his positions at the bank during a video conference yesterday. The resignation goes into effect from today.
Chang said he originally expected to hold the position for two terms, or six years, when he assumed the chairmanship in May 2000.
He has been in the post for more than seven years, so it's time for him to leave and a successor to turn a new page for the bank, Chang said.
The Chinese-language China Times reported yesterday that Chang's resignation was related to his alleged involvement in a procurement scandal investigation, which was submitted to the Financial Supervisory Commission and the results of which may be announced soon.
Thirteen firms eye WiMAX
A total of 13 companies expressed interest by the deadline yesterday in the auction of six regional licenses for operating next-generation Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), the National Communications Commission (NCC) said. Tatung Co (大同), Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan Digital Communications Corp (台信聯合電訊), Won Won Infocomm Co (旺旺電通), Far EasTone Telecom. Co (遠傳電信), as well as a joint venture established by Vibo Telecom Inc (威寶電信) and Tecom Co (東訊) applied for licenses in the north and the south.
First International Telecom Corp (大眾電信), Global On Corp (創一投資) and Pan Overseas Corp (匯僑) applied for licenses in the north. Chunghwa Wideband Best Network Co (中華聯網寬頻), Asia Pacific Broadband Telecom Co (亞太固網), Vastar Cable TV System Corp (威達有線電視) and Ubiquitous Mobile Multimedia Inc (寰宇通) will contend for licenses in the south.
Flat panel fair loses firms
Fewer flat-panel display companies are scheduled to showcase their products during the annual flat-panel exhibition in Taipei, starting tomorrow, one of the organizers, Photonics Industry and Technology Development Associations (PIDA, 光電協會), said yesterday.
Some 167 companies, down from around 300 firms last year, would display their new products at 431 booths during the four-day show, PIDA said. Last year, 750 booths were used for the show.
NT dollar weaker
The NT dollar lost NT$0.019 against the US dollar to close at NT$33.009 on the Taipei Forex Inc. Turnover was US$617 million.
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