Foxconn shares gain on Motorola order rumor

The China Post - Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., the world's largest contract manufacturer of mobile phones, rose the most in 16 months in Hong Kong trading on speculation its customer Motorola Inc. is increasing parts orders.Full Story

Slowdown signs emerge for housing market

The China Post - Following four years of bullish development, Taiwan's housing market appears to be on the brink of slowing down, as reflected by some indicators issued by the government.Full Story

Seed-testing lab obtains ISTA re-accreditation

The China Post - The Seed Testing Laboratory (STL) under the Council of Agriculture (COA) has obtained a certificate of re-accreditation from the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) in recognition of its competence, a COA official said yesterday. Full Story

Benchmark index advances 1.7% following Wall St. gains

The China Post - Taiwan shares rose across the board on Thursday following overnight Wall Street gains. The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 156.18 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at day's high of 9,413.65 in heavy volume.Full Story

Tax revenue pie for local govts sharply expanded

The China Post - The Cabinet yesterday approved a set of draft revisions to the bill governing tax budget allocation, greatly expanding the tax revenue pie for local county and city governments by NT$100 billion to the level of NT$270-280 billion from the existing NT$180 billion. Full Story

World Bank: Singapore is most c-friendly

The China Post - For the second year in a row, Singapore was ranked the world's easiest place to do business, followed by New Zealand and the United States, the World Bank's annual "Doing Business" report said Wednesday. Full Story

United States Supreme Court to rule on LG technology patent case

The China Post - The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will consider a technology patent case that could have far-reaching ramifications for computer makers and other industries with global supply chains. Full Story

Locals may suffer 10% hike in commodities

The China Post - Locals will be affected by higher living costs next month, as prices for such daily commodities as flour, soy sauce and salad oil are poised to rise by over 10 percent to reflect international price hikes on raw agricultural materials such as wheat, soybean, and corn, according to market sources. Full Story

Motech Industries signs supply deal with Wacker Chemie

The China Post - Taiwan's Motech Industries said it had signed a 10-year silicon supply deal with Germany's Wacker Chemie AG, the world's second-largest maker of silicon for chips and solar cells, Motech said on Wednesday. Full Story

Asian firms do poorly on the environment

The China Post - Asian companies scored poorly on "clean and green" awareness, a group that promotes corporate governance in Asia said Wednesday. Full Story

Taiwan display makers gain on rising small panel prices

The China Post - AU Optronics Corp. and other liquid crystal display makers gained in Taipei share trading after prices of smaller panels rose for the first time in two years. Full Story

TSMC to pay US$30.5 million in damages to United States firm

The China Post - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), said yesterday a California court had ordered it to pay U.S.-based UniRAM Technology Inc. US$30.5 million over misuse of trade secrets. Full Story

HSBC to open Taiwan insurance operation

The China Post - HSBC Holdings, Europe's biggest bank, said Wednesday it will open an insurance business in Taiwan as it aims to tap into the fourth-biggest insurance market in Asia. Full Story

Chia Hsin Cement shares up on Credit Suisse report

The China Post - Chia Hsin Cement Corp. shares gained after Credit Suisse Group initiated coverage on Taiwan's fourth largest cement maker with an "outperform" rating. Full Story

Shares close up at 1.67 percent

The China Post - Taiwan share prices closed 1.67 percent higher Wednesday ahead of the expiry of futures contracts later in the week, dealers said. Full Story

India's Sensex rises above 17,000 for 1st time

The China Post - Most Asian markets rose Wednesday as Japanese stocks advanced modestly on higher finance shares. India's benchmark stock index crossed 17,000 for the first time Wednesday after zooming up 1,000 points in just six sessions since the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate last week. Full Story

NSC to feature new technology at International Invention Show

The China Post - More than 360 examples of new technology will be displayed at the annual Taipei International Invention Show and Technomart, which will run from Sept. 27-30, the National Science Council (NSC) announced yesterday. Full Story

Sleeping woman left on Northwest Airlines plane

The China Post - A Taiwanese woman was too sleepy to realize that she was left behind in an empty cabin of a Northwest Airlines plane until her absent-minded boyfriend alerted authorities 30 minutes later, local news media reported yesterday. Full Story

TAIEX likely to rise after China holiday

The China Post - Foreign investors are expected to turn to Taiwan after the Mid-Autumn Festival, giving the sluggish stock market a stimulus needed to recover the shock of the American subprime crash. Full Story

Dollar pauses close to record low against steady euro

The China Post - The dollar hovered just above its record low against the euro in Asian trade on Tuesday as the market looked for clues on whether U.S. interest rates could fall further, dealers said. Full Story

CEPD: 35.9 percent of budget to go toward

The China Post - The government will allocate 35.9 percent of its next year's total public construction budget, or NT$143.9 billion, for petroleum and electricity facilities, economic officials said yesterday. Full Story

Hsinchu Science Park exports set record

The China Post - The Hsinchu Science Park set a single-month record for exports in August at NT$62.07 billion, thanks to a boom in the integrated circuit (IC) and optoelectronics sectors. Full Story

Double-digit export growth forecasted

The China Post - The Board of Foreign Trade (BOFT) said yesterday Taiwan's exports will register a double-digit growth in 2007, dismissing forecast by a local think tank saying the island's exports will only grow by 7.41 percent. Full Story

Taipei housing confidence at four-year low

The China Post - Taipei housing market confidence dropped to its lowest in almost four years because of rising prices, a Taiwan government-sponsored survey showed. Full Story

Local bourse seen to trend up in fourth quarter

The China Post - Institutional investors are expecting the Taiwan Stock Exchange to trend upward in the fourth quarter of the year, and are likely to zero in on high-tech shares, electronics stocks and China-concept issues after the Moon Festival falling on Sept. 25, according to market sources. Full Story

Taiwan software firms to tap Southeast Asian markets

The China Post - A software sector delegation, organized by the quasi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), will undertake fact-finding visits to Vietnam and Thailand early next month to explore trade opportunities, a TAITRA official said yesterday. Full Story

Taiwan promoting agricultural products through online system

The China Post - Taiwan has been introducing a variety of agricultural products to foreign buyers via an online system at various international trade fairs, an official said yesterday. Full Story

OCAC seeks investment from overseas Taiwanese

The China Post - The Cabinet-level Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission (OCAC) is organizing a delegation of overseas Taiwanese businessmen to visit Taiwan to seek investment opportunities, an OCAC official said yesterday. Full Story

Telecom regulatory forum slated for October 3-4 in Taipei

The China Post - A telecommunications and broadcasting regulatory forum is scheduled to be held Oct. 3 to 4 at the National Central Library under the auspices of National Communications Commission (NCC) and the Taiwan Telecommunication Industry Development Association (TTIDA), an NCC official announced yesterday. Full Story

Taipei station to become solar power model

The China Post - The state-run Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) is planning to turn the Taipei Railway Station into a model of energy conservation by harnessing solar power. Full Story

Taipei investigation reveals detergent refill bag mark-up

The China Post - A Taipei City consumer protection officer yesterday demanded that liquid detergent refill bags that exceed the price of their bottled counterparts be taken off the market within a week. Full Story

No water, electricity price hikes, Cabinet official says

The China Post - The government will not raise water and electricity rates, despite skyrocketing oil prices, a Cabinet official said yesterday. Full Story

Banks start raising mortgage interest rates

The China Post - Bank SinoPac and Taishin International Bank took the lead to raise their interest rates for mortgage loans to reflect the higher capital cost after the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) -- CBC -- increased its benchmark interest rate for financial institutions starting yesterday. Full Story

NT$ at 1-month high on rate hike, exporter deals

The China Post - The Taiwan dollar strengthened to a one-month high yesterday after the Central Bank of China (CBC) raised interest rates and sold U.S. dollars, and on exporters' deals ahead of a long holiday weekend. Full Story

ROC jobless rate matches 9-month low of 3.87 percent

The China Post - Taiwan's jobless rate remained at 3.87 percent in August, matching a nine-month low, as manufacturers including AU Optronics Corp. hired workers to meet rising export demand. Full Story

Acer to go ahead with purchase of Packard Bell through Gateway

The China Post - Taiwanese computer vendor Acer will go ahead with the purchase of Paris-based PC maker Packard Bell through U.S. group Gateway which it recently bid for, Acer's president said Friday in Madrid. Full Story

Taiwan August export orders at record high

The China Post - Taiwan's export orders in August rose to a record high US$30.49 billion, compared with US$29.72 billion in July, the economics ministry said Friday. Full Story

Taiwan to sell NT$130 bil. of general, parks debt

The China Post - Taiwan's government plans to sell NT$100 billion (US$3 billion) of bonds to help fund spending in the fourth quarter, the Finance Ministry in Taipei said Friday in a statement on its Web site. Full Story

Formosa Plastics gains on speculation sales will rise

The China Post - Formosa Plastics Corp., the world's second-largest maker of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, rose to the highest in at least 15 years in Taipei trading on expectations sales will climb. Full Story

Powerchip invests further in Rexchip chip venture

The China Post - Powerchip Semiconductor Corp., Taiwan's largest memory-chip maker, will invest an extra NT$5 billion (US$152 million) in its venture with Elpida Memory Inc. Full Story

Central bank raises key rates by 0.125%, despite Fed cut

The China Post -- It seems the central bank has taken a conservative approach in setting its monetary policy as it raised key interest rates for a 13th consecutive quarter, citing inflationary concerns. Full Story

South Korea, Taiwan miss FTSE upgrade again

The China Post -- Global index compiler FTSE again dashed hopes that South Korea and Taiwan would be upgraded to developed market status, saying more work was needed to improve foreign investor access. Full Story

Medco technician admits to 'logic bomb'

The China Post -- A former employee of Medco Health Solutions Inc., the biggest U.S. manager of drug benefits, pleaded guilty to charges that he engaged in a failed plot to sabotage company computers by hiding a destructive code. Full Story

Supply of E3 ethanol-blended gasoline to start on Sept. 29

The China Post -- Starting Sept. 29, eight gas stations in Taipei of the state-run CPC Corp. Taiwan will supply E3 ethanol-blended gasoline, in line with the government's efforts to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, officials with the Energy Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Full Story

The Council of Agriculture carries out trial planting of corn for biomass energy

The China Post -- The Council of Agriculture (COA) has carried out a trial planting of corn on 300 hectares of fallow farmland in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan to be used as raw material for the production of biomass energy, COA Chairman Su Jia-chyuan said yesterday. Full Story

AmCham holds discussion on employee assistance programs

The China Post -- Corporations are increasingly implementing employee assistance programs to enhance the skills as well as the well-being of employees, said speakers at a discussion held by AmCham yesterday. Full Story

Taiwan's real salary increase to reach 3.1 percent for '08

The China Post -- The real salary increase in Taiwan is expected to register 3.1 percent for 2008, the fourth lowest increase among 13 Asia-Pacific economies surveyed, according to a report published recently by a global consulting firm. Full Story

Arima to sell notebook, server ops to Flextronics

The China Post -- Taiwan's Arima Computer said yesterday it has signed a letter of intent with Flextronics to sell its notebook PC and server operations to Flextronics for US$191.5 million. Full Story

Formosa to restart one cracker, shut down another

The China Post -- Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. has restarted its 700,000 tons per year (tpy) No.1 naphtha cracker but will skip spot buying for November as it plans to shut down another naphtha unit, a company source said yesterday. Full Story

Forbes: Taiwan leads China on list of best Asian SMEs

The China Post -- Technology firms dominated as Taiwan led China in a list of the best 200 Asian companies with annual revenues of under US$1 billion, Forbes Asia business magazine said yesterday. Full Story