New AmCham head appointed
Tung Tai-chin (童台琴), county head of Fidelity International Ltd Taiwan (富達國際), succeeded Jane Hwang (黃素貞) of State Street Bank as the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham), a press release said yesterday.
"I am looking forward to working with the government to help improve Taiwan's standing on the world stage and to seek to enhance its economic competitiveness," said Tung, the former treasurer of AmCham.
The local head of AmCham will from now on be known in English as the "chairman" instead of the "president" as in the past, as the organization decided to make the change in line with other American chambers of commerce in the greater China area, the release said.
TAIEX moves to 8,000 points
Taiwan share prices closed 2.65 percent higher yesterday as its stock market index regained the 8,000-point level following a Wall Street rebound, dealers said.
Bargain-hunting after a recent slump catalyzed the rally, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 206.92 points at 8,014.31 on turnover of NT$112.02 billion (US$3.45 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,624 to 386, with 425 stocks unchanged.
A total of 72 stocks closed limit-up, while 25 were limit-down.
A reduction in the amount of margin loans outstanding also persuaded investors to buy for the short term, dealers said.
iPod sells at double cost
Apple Inc, whose iPod music players revived earnings at the computer maker, sells the touch-screen version of the device for double the cost of the parts that go in it, researcher iSuppli Corp said.
The cheapest model of the iPod Touch, which went on sale in September, sells for US$299 and components cost about US$147, according to a report today from El Segundo, California-based iSuppli, which opened the player to identify the parts.
Total component costs for the touch-screen iPod were US$149.18, based on October prices, and have since fallen to US$147, while costs for production, assembly and testing add a further US$5.86, iSuppli said.
Chunghwa Telecom gets 'AA'
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services affirmed its "AA" long-term foreign currency corporate credit rating for Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) yesterday because of the company's strong market position and ability to generate cash flow.
The outlook is stable, S&P said in a statement.
"These factors are partly offset by the company's limited growth prospects and increasing competition," S&P said.
The telecom operator's debt usage is minimal, as its operating cash flows -- about NT$90 billion (US$2.76 billion) each year -- cover all of its capital spending of about NT$30 billion and cash dividend payouts of NT$40 billion.
S&P expects Chunghwa Telecom to continue generating robust cash flows.
Chang Feng-hsiung to lead Vibo
Vibo Telecom Inc (威寶電信) announced yesterday that Chang Feng-hsiung (張豐雄) has been appointed as the firm's new president. Vice chairman James Tsao (曹萬鈞) will relinquish his duties as acting president.
Chang, who was an executive vice president of Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) until yesterday, has more than 30 years of experience in the telecom industry. He retired from Chunghwa hours before Vibo's announcement.
NT dollar gains on greenback
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, rising NT$0.01 to close at NT$32.507. A total of US$965 million changed hands during the day's trading.
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