Google Maps Taiwan offers free ad listings, traffic info

The China Post - Google Taiwan announced yesterday the addition of a free advertising platform on its well-known Google Maps that allows users to add personal and business listings based on location. Full Story

Nestle Taiwan — drive of health, nutrition, wellness life

The China Post - Almost a century and a half ago, Swiss pharmacist Henri Nestle invented a milk food for infants which saved the life of a neighbor's child and helped combat the high infant death rate in Europe at the time. Full Story

Cathay Financial falls after gaining on quarterly profit surge

The China Post - Cathay Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's biggest financial services company, fell in Taipei after earlier rising to an 11-week high on quarterly profit that tripled as fewer customers defaulted on credit-card repayments. Full Story

Fair Trade Commission to probe CPC's crude oil costs

The China Post - The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said yesterday that it will conduct an investigation into the crude oil purchase costs of the state-owned CPC Corp. Taiwan. Full Story

Taiwan Semi, United Micro shares decline after report

The China Post - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp. fell in Taipei trading after a newspaper reported the chipmakers plan to cut capital spending in 2008 as they prepare for slowing demand. Full Story

Think-tank revises growth up to 4.61%

The China Post - The Taipei-based Polaris Research Institute revised upward yesterday its forecast for Taiwan's economic growth for 2007 from 4.58 percent to 4.61 percent. Full Story

86% of Gateway shares tendered as bid ended

The China Post - Acer Inc., which agreed to buy Gateway Inc. for US$710 million to become the world's third-biggest personal computer maker, completed its offer and said 86.09 percent of Gateway's shares were tendered. Full Story

Asian stocks close higher; gains limited by Wall St.

The China Post - Asian stocks closed mostly higher Thursday with investors focussing on domestic issues, however, a mixed performance by Wall Street overnight limited gains. Full Story

Shares rise on strong cement

The China Post - Taiwan shares rose Thursday on strong cement issues performance due to demand from China. Full Story

TSU urges government to tackle low-end tea imports

The China Post - Lawmakers and officials of the opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) urged the government yesterday to tackle substandard tea imports from China and Vietnam, which they said have seriously affected the livelihoods of Taiwan's growers. Full Story

CAL, EVA Airways may offer flights to Prague

The China Post - China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways -- the country's two largest carriers -- expressed interests Thursday in offering flights to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, after Taiwan and the Central European country signed an aviation agreement earlier in the day. Full Story

Photovoltaic output to hit NT$50 billion by 2009

The China Post - The annual output Taiwan's solar energy-related industry will top NT$50 billion (US$1.53 billion) in 2009, rising from a mere NT$7 billion in 2005, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve R.L. Chen said yesterday. Full Story

Labor income share in Taiwan GDP drops

The China Post - The share of labor income in Taiwan's gross domestic product (GDP) has been declining over the past two decades, with the ratio having dropped from 51.4 percent in 1990 to 45.8 percent in 2005, according to a report released yesterday by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). Full Story

Rotterdam to pip Kaohsiung as 6th-largest container port in '07

The China Post - Rotterdam Port will replace Taiwan's Kaohsiung Harbour as the world's 6th-busiest container port by the end of 2007, a newspaper said yesterday. Full Story

Forum to address investment in China

The China Post - The Department of Business Administration at National Taipei University announced yesterday it will hold a business forum addressing issues and policies related to Taiwan investment in mainland China. Full Story

Shopping becomes Japan's top draw: study

The China Post - Shopping has replaced culture as the top draw for tourists to Japan as Asian travelers flock to buy electronics products and clothing, an industry survey showed Tuesday. Full Story

Decline in gas sales as drivers complain of cost

The China Post - Gasoline sales have declined slowly amid a rise in gas prices and driver complaints about rising costs at the pumps. Full Story

Online purchases to top NT$185 billion in 2007: III

The China Post - Taiwan's online shopping business is forecast to top NT$185.5 billion for 2007, the quasi-governmental Institute for Information Industry (III) reported yesterday. Full Story

China, Hong Kong and India again at record closes

The China Post - Most Asian markets rose Wednesday, with markets in China, Hong Kong and India again finishing at record closes. Full Story

India's bull market run has further record highs to go: analysts

The China Post - India's stock market has rocketed nearly 3,000 points in three hectic weeks to hit record highs and analysts say the bull run has further to go. Full Story

Gov't to go ahead with bank merger plan

The China Post - The government will go ahead with its plan to merge three wholly state-owned banks into a holding company, despite a Legislative Yuan motion demanding a halt to the project, Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wei said yesterday. Full Story

Kaohsiung Harbor sees slow growth

The China Post - Kaohsiung Harbor is at risk of losing its No. 6 global ranking in terms of container handling volume after a period of slow growth, according to the latest tallies released Tuesday by the Department of Aviation and Navigation under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Full Story

Taiwan's first performing humanoid robot unveiled in Kaohsiung

The China Post - Taiwan's first humanoid robot performer "Janet," which is capable of speaking, singing and walking, debuted at a news conference on Monday to promote a robot design and manufacturing contest and made a splash. Full Story

Cathay Financial profit jumps as credit crisis eases

The China Post - Cathay Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's biggest financial services company, tripled third quarter profit from a year earlier as fewer customers defaulted on credit-card repayments. Full Story

Taiwan's Fubon Financial triples profit in fiscal Q3

The China Post - Fubon Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's second-largest financial services company by market value, more than tripled third-quarter profit from a year earlier. Full Story

Mega Financial Holding Co. nine-month profit falls 6.3%

The China Post - Mega Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's second-largest financial services company by assets, posted a 6.3 percent decline in nine-month profit. Full Story

Hua Nan Financial 9-month profit up 24% to NT$7.52 billion

The China Post - Hua Nan Financial Holdings Co., Taiwan's fourth-largest financial services company by assets, posted a 24 percent gain in nine-month profit. Full Story

Taiwan First Financial nine-month profit rises 38%

The China Post - First Financial Holding Co., Taiwan's fifth-largest financial services company by assets, posted a 38 percent rise in nine-month profit. Full Story

Uni-President in talks with Hong Kong regulators on listing shares

The China Post - Uni-President Enterprises Corp., Taiwan's biggest processed food maker, said it's still in talks with regulators to list shares in Hong Kong and has no schedule for an equity offering there. Full Story

TSMC Q3 sales at new quarterly record

The China Post - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest made-to-order chipmaker, yesterday announced combined September sales of NT$29.453 billion, a decline of 1.9 percent from August but a rise of 8.2 percent from the same period last year. Full Story

UMC's September sales up to US$323 million

The China Post - United Microelectronics Corporation said Tuesday its parent sales in September rose to NT$10.54 billion (US$323.3 million), up from 10.43 billion of the previous month. Full Story

Chi Mei Opto shares up on sales, shipment gains

The China Post - Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., Taiwan's second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays, gained to the highest in three months in Taipei after the company posted a 68 percent rise in September sales. Full Story

CPC to shut Linyuan plants for scheduled check up

The China Post - CPC Corp., Taiwan's state refiner, plans to shut both of its ethylene plants in Linyuan for maintenance in October and November, a company official said. Full Story

China Shenhua stock soars in spectacular debut

The China Post - Shares in China Shenhua Energy surged nearly 90 percent in their trading debut Tuesday as the coal firm completed mainland China's largest ever stock listing, which raised almost nine billion dollars. Full Story

Euro dives to two-week low against greenback

The China Post - The euro hit its lowest point against the dollar in more than two weeks on Tuesday, as dealers awaited publication of minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest rate-setting meet. Full Story

Most Asian markets rise on stocks

The China Post - Most Asian markets advanced Tuesday, with indexes in India, China and South Korea rising to new records. Gainers included India's Reliance Energy Ltd. and China Shenhua Energy Co., which debuted on the Shanghai exchange. Full Story

Shares fall on overall weakness

The China Post - Taiwan shares fell Tuesday on profit-taking in tech and traditional industry issues. Full Story

Governement requested to suspend financial holding company plan

The China Post - The government plan to set up a giant state-run financial holding company (FHC) hit a snag yesterday, as the finance committee of the Legislative Yuan approved a motion requesting the Ministry of Finance suspend the plan to integrate Bank of Taiwan, Land Bank of Taiwan and Export-Import Bank of ROC into the Taiwan Financial Holding Co. Full Story

Economic growth to top 4.58 percent this year, premier says

The China Post - Premier Chang Chun-hsiung estimated yesterday that the country's domestic economy will grow by at least 4.58 percent this year, given steady growth in the industrial sector and thriving performances on the local bourse. Full Story

Taiwan's export growth up on Asia demand

The China Post - Taiwan's export growth unexpectedly accelerated in September as demand from China and Southeast Asia offset weaker U.S. orders. Full Story

AU leads LCD stocks higher after posting record sales

The China Post - AU Optronics Corp. led shares of liquid-crystal display makers higher after reporting record monthly sales, fueling optimism that rising panel prices will boost industry earnings. Full Story

4 local banks to propose capital increase plans

The China Post - Four local banks have been asked to propose capital increase plans due to the losses they made, disclosed the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday. Full Story

Quanta ships record 3.1 million notebook PCs in September

The China Post - Quanta Computer Inc., the world's largest maker of laptops for clients such as Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co., posted record sales and shipments last month. Full Story

LG plans to outsource LCD TVs to Taiwan firm

The China Post - LG Electronics Inc., the world's fifth-largest liquid-crystal display television maker, plans to sign an outsourcing agreement to have a Taiwan-based company make LCD TVs to cut production costs. Full Story

China Development's 9-month profit falls 7.7%

The China Post - China Development Financial Holding Corp., owner of Taiwan's largest venture capital company, posted a 7.7 percent drop in nine-month profit. Full Story

Motorola wins equipment orders from Far Eastone

The China Post - Motorola Inc., the biggest U.S. mobile phone maker, said it won orders to provide wireless Internet network equipment to Taiwan's Far Eastone Telecommunications Co. Full Story

Capital, Jih Sun rise on pension fund mandate

The China Post - Capital Securities Co. and Jih Sun Financial Holdings Co. rose in Taipei trading after being chosen to manage NT$16 billion for the government's pension fund. Full Story

Euro slips against dollar amid eurozone finance meeting

The China Post - The euro slipped under 1.41 dollars on Monday, as eurozone ministers sat down to discuss the European single currency's recent record strength, dealers said. Full Story

Asia advances; Shanghai, Manila hit record highs

The China Post - Most Asian markets rose Monday, with shares in China shooting to a record after a weeklong holiday on the mainland. Benchmark indexes in the Philippines and Indonesia also rose to record closes. Full Story

Shares boosted on strong performance by tech issues

The China Post - Taiwan shares rose Monday on strong performance by tech issues. Full Story

Over 1,200 exhibitors set to participate in 'must-attend' TAITRONICS AUTUMN 2007

The China Post - TAITRONICS AUTUMN, in its 33rd year, has become one of the most famous electronics industry shows in the world. Renowned international companies such as KSS, Elead, Weihai Systems, King State, Hamg Shing Technology, UMEC and SGS have regularly used this venue to launch their products. Full Story

Taiwan government teaming up with private sector to energize prospects of photovoltaic industry

The China Post - Even though the development of the photovoltaic industry in Taiwan is still in its budding stage, the global market share of Taiwan-made solar cells has increased impressively. Full Story

Public welfare lottery profits near NT$10 billion in 8 months

The China Post - The aggregate profits earned from the issuance of public welfare lottery tickets ran close to NT$10 billion in the first eight months of the year, according to statistics compiled by Taiwan Lottery Co., Ltd., operator of the lottery. Full Story

Central Taiwan Science Park in need of workers

The China Post - The Central Taiwan Science Park in Taichung County will have to recruit at least 1,700 workers in 2008 due to its rapid business expansion, according to an investigation by the Cabinet-level Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). Full Story

NT$350 billion private-sector funds go into public works

The China Post - More than NT$350 billion private-sector funds had been funneled into 552 public work projects by the government between 2002 and the end of September this year, according to the Cabinet-level Public Construction Commission (PCC). Full Story

TSE chief calls for clearer laws on insider trading

The China Post - Wu Rong-i, chairman of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TSE), Saturday urged the government, in collaboration with law experts, to review existing rules regulating insider trading cases and come up with clearer and more feasible regulations. Full Story

Symantec launches photo emoticon look-alike contest

The China Post - The Symantec Corp., a global leader in Internet security software, is holding a global photo competition running through until Oct. 15 to find the best photos of facial expressions imitating emoticons, with a variety of prizes including US$10,000 in cash on offer, an event organizer said yesterday. Full Story

Solar panel textiles highly praised

The China Post - The seventh Textile International Forum and Exhibition (TIFE 2007) ended yesterday with local and international experts in agreement on the growing importance of green technologies on value creation in the textile industry. Full Story

Auditor-general warns on deteriorating gov't debts

The China Post - The government's debts have surged to a record high while the rampant waste, corruption and incompetency in executing the budget plans are making the problems worse, warned the Ministry of Audit (MOA). Full Story

Innovative solar textile technology featured at TIFE

The China Post - The Textile International Forum and Exhibition (TIFE) is a testament to Taiwan's ingenuity and innovation. Full Story

Taiwan, fearing squeeze, seeks long-term coal deals

The China Post - Two Taiwanese utilities sought this week to secure coal supplies for the next five to 10 years, longer-term deals than the norm, amid growing concerns that China's demand may sap Asian supplies for years to come. Full Story

Inflation accelerates to fastest in two years

The China Post - Taiwan's inflation accelerated to a two-year high in September on food costs, adding pressure for another interest-rate increase. Consumer prices advanced 3.08 percent from a year earlier, the state statistics bureau said yesterday in Taipei. Full Story

PeopleSearch opens office in Hsinchu Science Park

The China Post - With a focus on meeting the human capital needs of the technology sector, PeopleSearch has expanded its presence in Taiwan by opening a branch office in Hsinchu Science Park. Full Story

Compal to build US$500 mil. plant in northern Vietnam

The China Post - Taiwan's Compal Electronics Inc., the world's second-largest maker of notebook computers, will invest US$500 million in building a factory to produce computers and electronic components in Vietnam, a government official said. Full Story

Ta Chong meeting delayed over Carlyle deal

The China Post - Taiwan's Ta Chong Bank Ltd. said it may have to delay electing new board members because the securities regulator hasn't yet approved its sale of a stake to Carlyle Group and a partner. Ta Chong shares fell. Full Story

Far Eastern Air shares rise after U-Ming buys stake

The China Post - Far Eastern Air Transport Co., a domestic airline in Taiwan, snapped a two-day decline and rose after U-Ming Marine Transport Corp. said it bought a 5.77 percent stake to expand. Full Story

High Tech Computer Q3 net rises to NT$7.38 bil.

The China Post - High Tech Computer Corp., the world's largest maker of mobile phone handsets using Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system, posted a 10 percent increase in third-quarter profit. Full Story

Taiwan end-September forex reserves rise

The China Post - Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves totaled US$262.94 billion at the end of September, up from the US$261.37 billion recorded in the preceding month, the central bank said yesterday. Full Story