Polaris in Singapore approved
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday gave the green light to Polaris Securities Co’s (寶來證券) application to set up a branch in Singapore.
Securities and Futures Bureau Director-General Wu Tang-chieh (吳當傑) said the FSC approved the plan so Polaris could go ahead and expand its business footprint abroad.
Polaris is the first Taiwanese securities firm to receive approval to set up a branch in the city state, in keeping with the government’s liberalization and globalization policy, Wu told a press briefing.
Wu added that Polaris chose Singapore because of its tax system, financial expertise and large Chinese population.
Carbon market expanding fast
The global carbon market may expand by more than 15 times to US$1 trillion by the end of the next decade as countries, including Australia, limit greenhouse-gas emissions, Merrill Lynch & Co said.
The market’s value will probably exceed US$100 billion this year, compared with US$65 billion last year, Abyd Karmali, global head of carbon emissions at Merrill Lynch, said in an interview in Taipei on Tuesday.
Australia outlined a carbon trading system this month aimed at limiting emissions, joining the EU and neighbor New Zealand. The trading system in Australia is scheduled to start in 2010.
Japan, Taiwan and the US may follow suit, Karmali said.
Taiwan may create a carbon market in 18 months, as President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has pledged to reduce emissions, he said.
The nation’s carbon emissions in 2050 should fall to 50 percent of its 2000 levels, Ma has said.
Delegation to promote aid
A delegation of economic officials will promote Taiwan’s development aid projects in four Central American countries starting later this month, Taiwan’s embassy in Panama City said on Tuesday.
The delegation, composed of officials from the Department of Investment Services and other government agencies, will reaffirm the government’s resolve to help develop Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama and provide the latest investment information during its stay in the countries, the embassy said in a statement.
The delegation will also offer information on the development projects to Taiwanese businesspeople based in the four countries who are willing to participate in the projects, commonly known as Jungpang or Co-prosperity Project, the statement said.
The delegation will carry out its mission in Panama from Aug. 3 through Aug. 7.
Corn price gains on oil hike
About US$3 of corn price gains since 2004 may be attributed to rising oil costs, with US$1 caused by ethanol subsidies, a study by three agricultural economists at Purdue University in Indiana showed.
Transportation costs, a weak dollar and changes in energy consumption trends fueled a tripling of corn’s price since 2004, researchers Wally Tyner, Phil Abbott and Chris Hurt wrote in the report. The analysis, a synthesis of 25 previous studies and new research, was released yesterday by the Farm Foundation, a nonpartisan agricultural-research organization.
Commodities speculation played little role in the price surge and increased food consumption in China and India aren’t as important as rising energy use in either country, the authors said.
NT dollar weakens
The NT dollar lost ground against the US dollar on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday, declining NT$0.013 to close at NT$30.394. A total of US$784 million changed hands during the day.
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