Asian bank stocks offer value amid crisis

The China Post- Banking shares from Japan, Singapore, Australia and South Korea have been left behind in a recent rally of many regional stock markets, providing a good opportunity for buyers. Full Story

Shares close 0.75% lower

The China Post- Taiwan share prices closed 0.75 percent lower Thursday on profit-taking following recent gains and after Wall Street's fall overnight, dealers said. Full Story

The Cabinet-level Fair Trade Commission slaps direct sales firm with NT$1 million fine for false story

The China Post- The Cabinet-level Fair Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday fined SunChin Marketing Network, a multi-level direct sales company, NT$1 million (US$30,000) for posting a falsified success story of a sales representative on its company website. Full Story

1.3 firms closed per one set up in first 8 months

The China Post- There were a total of 30,296 firms dissolved, suspended and scrapped in Taiwan in the first eight months of the year, showing a sharp increase of 51.82 percent from a year earlier as a result of an increasingly difficult business climate, according to statistics compiled by the China Credit Information Service Ltd. (CCIS) Full Story

Foreign investment US$651 mil. in Sept.

The China Post- Overseas investors brought to Taiwan a net value of US$651 million in September as Taiwan stocks took a turn for the better in the bottom half of the month. Full Story

Fair Trade Commission OKs creation of Taiwan Financial holding Corp.

The China Post- The Fair Trade Commission yesterday approved the merging of three state-run banks to form the Taiwan Financial Holding Corp., saying such a practice did not run contrary to the spirit of fair trade.Full Story

Taiwan to lift bank ownership cap to push mergers

The China Post- Taiwan plans to make it easier for investors to acquire local banks, seeking to encourage consolidation in an economy where hundreds of lenders serve 23 million people. Full Story

LG.Philips LCD and Taiwan rivals to post strong Q3 profit

The China Post- Flat screen maker LG.Philips LCD Co. Ltd. and two Taiwan rivals are set to post strong quarterly profits, and growing demand for flat screens and tight supply are likely to ensure a healthy market through 2008. Full Story

High Tech shares climb after Credit Suisse upgrade

The China Post- High Tech Computer Corp., the world's largest maker of handsets that use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system, rose to an 11-month high in Taipei after Credit Suisse Group raised its rating to "outperform." Full Story

China's Home Inn chain mulls building in Taiwan

The China Post- China's Home Inn hotel chain is considering expanding into Taiwan, a newspaper said yesterday. Full Story

U-Ming Marine buys 5.77% stake in Far Eastern Air

The China Post- U-Ming Marine Transport Corp. said it bought a 5.77 percent stake in Taiwan's Far Eastern Air Transport Co. through a wholly owned investment unit to expand its transportation business.Full Story

CPC to shut Linyuan plant for maintenance

The China Post- CPC Corp., Taiwan's state refiner, plans to shut one of two ethylene plants in Linyuan for maintenance on Oct. 11, a company official said. Full Story

Taiwan sells NT$30 billion of 5-year bonds at 2.603%

The China Post- Taiwan sold NT$30 billion of five-year bonds at a yield of 2.603 percent, above the rate at the previous sale in July, the central bank said. Full Story

National Development Fund to sponsor biotech firms

The China Post- The National Development Fund under the Executive Yuan will appropriate some NT$70 million to two local companies by mid-October as part of its NT$10 billion funding project dubbed "investing in local small- and medium-sized enterprises," officials disclosed yesterday. Full Story

Increased individual tax breaks proposed

The China Post - To help taxpayers cope with shrinking real incomes and rising commodity prices, the Chen Shui-bian Administration yesterday approved increased deductions for individual taxpayers that, if ratified by lawmakers, will take effect for the 2008 tax year and reduce the government's tax revenues by NT$3.7 billion (US$112 million) annually. Full Story

Government to intergrate stock, futures exchanges

The China Post - The Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to set up a holding company to integrate Taiwan's stock and futures exchanges and related agencies. Full Story

Textile exhibition focuses on value creation, green technology

The China Post - Minister Steve Chen of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and other officials from Taiwan's textile industry yesterday officially opened the seventh edition of the Textile International Forum and Exhibition (TIFE 2007). Full Story

Japan fiber expert stresses innovation is key

The China Post - A Japanese fiber technology expert said yesterday the country's fiber manufacturers rely on innovation to stay competitive, amid fierce international competition. Full Story

Hsinchu Science Park hopes IC design can become No. 1

The China Post - Hsinchu Science Park Administration Director-General Huang De-ruei expressed his hope yesterday that the production value of integrated circuit design, or IC design, will grow to take a 40 percent share of the global market in two or three years, thereby establishing it as No. 1 in the world. Full Story

Jan.-Aug. turnover of science parks grows 11.6 percent

The China Post - The combined turnover of three science industrial parks affiliated to the National Science Council (NSC) reached NT$1.2 trillion (US$36.85 billion) during the January-August period, posting an 11.6 percent growth compared with the level of the same period of 2006, according to an NSC report released Wednesday. Full Story

AMT to negatively impact foreign investment in Taiwan

The China Post - Within 18 months, the Alternative Minimum Tax for overseas income will go into effect. "This will have a major impact on financial, wealth management and mutual fund industries in Taiwan," said Eunice Kuo, tax managing partner at Deloitte and Touche Taiwan and AmCham Tax Committee co-chair. Full Story

Acer denies plan to halt expansion in China for focus on United States market

The China Post - Acer Inc., the Taiwanese computer maker that's buying Gateway Inc., denied a Digitimes report that the company will halt expansion in China to focus on its biggest markets, the U.S. and Europe. Full Story

Cathay to tap property insurance in China

The China Post - Cathay Financial, Taiwan's biggest financial holding firm, said it plans to set up a property insurance company in China to tap the fast growing mainland market. Full Story

Chi Mei invests in screen-module maker stake

The China Post - Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., Taiwan's second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, invested NT$1.5 billion ($46 million) for a controlling stake in a group supplier of screen-parts used in phones and cameras. Full Story

LDK solar wins five-year supply order from Solartech

The China Post - LDK Solar Co., a Chinese manufacturer of silicon material for solar cells, said it won a five-year supply contract from Taiwan panel-maker Solartech Energy Corp. Full Story

Mediatek shares rise to record on Sony order report

The China Post - Mediatek Inc., Taiwan's largest semiconductor designer, rose to a record in Taipei trading after a newspaper reported the company received orders from Sony Corp. Full Story

Cathay Financial shares up after China United deal

The China Post - Cathay Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's largest financial group, climbed to a two-month high in Taipei after agreeing to take over China United Trust & Investment Corp. The stock rose NT$1.60, or 2 percent, to NT$83.40 at the 1:30 p.m. local time close, the highest since July 31. Full Story

ROC to revise laws on letting exchanges merge

The China Post - Taiwan's Cabinet plans to revise the island's laws to allow the merger of the futures and stock exchanges to create a bigger and more competitive bourse. Full Story

Most Asian markets close lower

The China Post - Most Asian markets were lower Wednesday, although Japanese shares rose for their third straight session and Indian shares surged to a record close. Full Story

Shares close up 0.80 percent

The China Post - Taiwan share prices closed 0.80 percent up Wednesday as investors ignored Wall Street's mixed performance overnight, dealers said. Full Story

Taiwan to become mobile technology island: official

The China Post - The "Mobile-Taiwan" project will help the country realize its goal of transforming itself into a mobile technology hot spot, an economic official said Wednesday. Full Story

Cathay Financial to take over firm

The China Post - Cathay Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's largest financial group, agreed to take over China United Trust & Investment Corp., after the company was put under government oversight in March because its liabilities exceeded assets. Full Story

AmCham urges focus on economic issues

The China Post - "A shot across the bow" -- that's how AmCham Executive Director Richard Vuylsteke described the conclusions of the World Bank's Doing Business 2008 report. Full Story

Taiwan stocks rise to two-month high

The China Post - Taiwan's stocks rose to a two-month high yesterday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to a record, signaling strengthening confidence that credit-markets turmoil is over. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. paced gains. Full Story

MOU inked to make driver safety system

The China Post - A memorandum of understanding to develop a new driver safety sensor system has been signed by the Hsinchu-based Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and Hwa-chuang Automobile Technical Center Co., sources from both sides disclosed yesterday. Full Story

Taiwan to sell off NT$5.5 bil. shares to fund annual budget

The China Post - Taiwan's government plans to raise about NT$5.52 billion selling shares of China Steel Corp. and Central Reinsurance Co. The sale is to help fund the government's budget for this year, a newspaper said yesterday. Full Story

China Airlines names Ringo Chao chairman

The China Post - China Airlines, Taiwan's largest air carrier, appointed Ringo Chao as chairman, replacing Philip Wei, a company spokesman said. Full Story

Asian markets rally after Wall St. surge

The China Post - sian markets rallied Tuesday as investors were heartened by news of a record close overnight on Wall Street amid fading worries over the U.S. credit crisis. Benchmark indexes in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Australia all hit records. Full Story

Shares 1.42% higher after Wall Street record

The China Post - Taiwan share prices closed 1.42 percent higher Tuesday as ample liquidity spurred on a rally triggered earlier by Wall Street's solid advance overnight to a record finish, dealers said. Full Story

Uni Airways opens route for Taichung-Ho Chi Minh City

The China Post - Taiwan-based Uni Airways launched its first charter flight from Taichung Airport in central Taiwan to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam yesterday. Full Story

German Cultural Center Presents a Different Image of Germany

The China Post - The German Cultural Center (Deutsches Kulturzentrum) Taipei is anything but ordinary. A testament to German creativity and design, sleek lines in mahogany and glass blend together in a contemporary chic motif. No sharp corners typical of a workplace are in sight-every space flows in harmony with the rest. Full Story

AHK Serves as The Bridge Between Taiwanese and German Business

The China Post - Efficiency, high quality standards, and environmental consideration. These are some of the principles that the German Trade Office in Taipei (AHK) actively works to transplant from Germany into Taiwan, according to Andreas Gursch, acting director of AHK. "Germany is known for sustainable, high quality products with no impact on the environment." Full Story

DAAD Head Indicates Taiwanese Students in Germany Increase Each Year

The China Post - As a major world power, Germany is a leader in many fields, among which high-quality engineering and technology are perhaps the most salient. Full Story

CBC may raise key rates further: Perng

The China Post - Taiwan's economy remains in good shape following three years of interest-rate increases to contain inflation, central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan said yesterday. Full Story

Gasoline, diesel see record price hike

The China Post - State-run CPC Corp., Taiwan announced yesterday evening that its domestic sales prices for gasoline and diesel oil will be hiked by NT$1.3 and NT$1.4 per liter, respectively, effective from 12:00 a.m. this morning, to reflect increased oil import costs. Full Story

Probe launched into noodle-maker prices

The China Post - The Fair Trade Commission under the Executive Yuan will launch an investigation into possible price-rigging by several instant noodle makers, Cabinet spokesman Shieh Jhy-wei said yesterday. Full Story

Passenger volume on domestic flights down 22.14% in Jan.-June

The China Post - The inauguration of the high speed railway has greatly affected domestic air carriers, with the number of passengers on domestic flights in the first half of this year declining 22.14 percent over the figure for the same period last year, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) reported yesterday. Full Story

III to hold open bidding for licenses, patent sales

The China Post - The Institute for Information Industry (III) will hold open bidding on patent sales and license agreements on 127 cases involving 199 projects on crucial software technology, III Executive Vice President Huang Yen-nun said yesterday. Full Story

Taiwan's EVA Air set to go non-stop to New York

The China Post - EVA Air, Taiwan's leading international carrier, said Monday it will launch non-stop service three times a week from Taipei to New York beginning on December 4. Full Story

Asian markets modestly higher

The China Post - Asian markets rose modestly Monday, with stocks in Japan mixed after the release of a survey of corporate sentiment. Trade was light in many markets due to public holidays in China and Hong Kong. Full Story

Shares inch up on non-tech buys

The China Post - Taiwan shares rose slightly Monday, supported by investors buying non-tech issues. Full Story

ICDF, IDB to offer home loans to Ecuadorian expats

The China Post - The International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) will cooperate with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in offering loans to encourage Ecuadorian expatriates to return home to purchase houses in Ecuador, an ICDF official said yesterday. Full Story

Jiangsu wage hike forces ROC makers inland

The China Post - In an effort to cushion the impact of an immediate 13.3 percent hike on basic monthly wage for workers in Jiangsu Province, China-Taiwan enterprises operating in some tier-one cities in the province are mulling moving their production lines to inland Chinese provinces or Vietnam. Full Story

Managers still bullish for U.S. market

The China Post - Manager bullishness for the U.S. equity market remained strong despite recent volatility in the financial markets and the wave of credit concerns that struck this summer, according to the latest Investment Manager Outlook, Russell Investment Group's quarterly survey of investment managers. Full Story

84% of office workers want to enter high-tech industry

The China Post - Nearly 84 percent of office workers who responded to a recent survey expressed their desire to enter the high-tech industry, according to the survey results released Saturday. Full Story

Taiwan to invest more pension funds

The China Post - Taiwan plans to invest 30 percent of the larger of its two pension funds into the local stock market next year, up from 22.26 percent now, a senior government official said Saturday. Full Story

Taiwan fortifies relationship with Swaziland

The China Post - King Mswati III of Swaziland told guests attending a luncheon in a New York hotel Friday that Taiwanese businessmen in Swaziland have not only made investments but also friends in Swaziland, and said Swaziland and Taiwan "will always understand each other and share feelings." Full Story

Pingtung to set up world's first animal vaccine lab zone: official

The China Post - The Pingtung Agricultural Biotechnology Park, eyeing the significant growth potential of the animal vaccine industry, plans to set up the world's first factory zone dedicated to the development and production of such vaccines, a park administration official said Sunday. Full Story

Gov't vehicles in Taipei begin to run on biofuel

The China Post - Minister of Economic Affairs Steve R.L. Chen activated a "green government vehicle" program Saturday, kicking off an order that all vehicles owned by the central government and the Taipei municipal government have to use E3 biofuel from that day on. Full Story

Food fair of Taiwanese farm products held in Hong Kong

The China Post - A food fair of Taiwanese agricultural products organized by the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) was launched Friday at the Wing On Department Store in Hong Kong, with 56 products shown for the first time in the special administrative region of China. Full Story

Central bank may raise rates: Perng

The China Post - Taiwan's central bank may raise its key interest rate further to contain increasing inflation risk, Governor Perng Fai-nan indicated. Full Story

Kaohsiung Harbor to build 16m deep-water terminal

The China Post - Taiwan's Kaohsiung Harbor on Friday commissioned the Yangming Marine Corps to build a 16-meter deep-water container terminal to boost the harbor's declining competitiveness. Full Story

Shares close 0.69% higher

The China Post - Taiwan share prices closed 0.69 percent higher Saturday as liquidity-driven buying outweighed Wall Street's overnight fall due to caution ahead of October's U.S. corporate earnings reports, dealers said. Full Story

Taiwan dollar rises on exporters, foreign funds

The China Post - The Taiwan dollar hit a nine-month closing high Saturday as exporters and foreign institutions sold U.S. dollars, and after the central bank's comments that hinted at more interest rate rises. Full Story

Asustek to put nine OEM units into two new firms

The China Post - Taiwan's Asustek Computer, the world's top motherboard maker, Saturday unveiled a reorganization plan that will move nine of its contract manufacturing units into two new companies. The move was part of the firm's broader plan announced in July to split its contract manufacturing from its branded businesses. Full Story

Uni-President shares rise on report of China venture

The China Post - Uni-President Enterprises Corp. shares rose to a record Saturday on a report Taiwan's biggest processed-food maker will take a stake in a Chinese company to make non-woven fabrics and hygiene paper. Full Story