Taiwan Headlines
Taiwan Headlines -Search



ECCT urges Taiwan to sign trade pact with China (Mar 11)
The European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) has urged Taiwan's government to sign a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China as soon as possible, saying it could remove barriers for Taiwan to ink economic pacts with other countries.

ECCT Chairman Nicholas Winsor said at a press briefing Wednesday that he believes that the ECFA would help Taiwan to initiate negotiations for trade enhancement agreements (TEMs) with the European Union and Russia.

This view was supported by Godwin Chang, a member of the ECCT's board of directors and CEO of Societe Generale Coporate and Investment Banking's Taipei Branch, who said that more foreign banks would be willing to come to Taiwan if the government could offer them preferential treatment and if it signs the ECFA with China later this year.

Francine Wu, another board member and CEO of Schroders Investment Management Co., noted that the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement that was signed between Hong Kong and China...


Taiex index closes at highest since January (Mar 11)
(ChinaPost.com.tw) - Taiwan’s Taiex index rose 8.49, or 0.1 percent, to 7,779.08 at the close of Taipei trading, the highest since Jan. 25.


Science parks workers on unpaid leave drops to 66 (Mar 11)
(ChinaPost.com.tw) - Thanks to a strengthening economic recovery, the number of science park workers on unpaid leave has dropped to 66 in February from a peak of 128,000 in January 2009, Premier Wu Den-yih said yesterday.


EasyCards to be accepted for small purchases (Mar 11)
EasyCards will be accepted as a means of payment for purchases of up to NT$10,000 at contracted stores, starting April 1, EasyCard Corp. announced yesterday.This


Taiwan shares close lower (Mar 11)
Taiwan's share prices closed lower Thursday with the weighted index, the market's key barometer, moving down 29.42 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 7,749.66.

The local bourse opened at 7,817.59 and fluctuated between a range of 7,818.84 and 7,749.4 during the day's trading. Market turnover totaled NT$90.13 billion (US$2.84 billion).

Seven of the eight major stock categories lost ground, with banking and financial issues shares moving down the most at 1.43 percent.

Foodstuff shares lost 0.87 percent, construction shares dropped 0.5 percent, paper and pulp issues fell 0.39 percent, plastic and chemical stocks lost 0.21, cement shares dropped 0.2 percent, while machinery and electronics issues were down 0.16 percent.

Of the eight major stock categories, only textile shares gained ground, edging up 0.32 percent. Losers outnumbered gainers 1,761 to 1,107, with 334 remaining unchanged. Foreign investors and Chinese QDIIs were net buyers of NT$2.75 billion in shares.


Government moves to curb executives' pay (Mar 11)
A government unit that manages public shareholding has formulated regulations to cap monthly salaries paid to the heads of government-owned or partially state-funded financial institutes at NT$320,000 (US$10,100) in light of a recent "self-enrichment incident" involving the head of a government-owned company.

The cap was calculated by doubling the monthly salary of NT$160,000 received by Susan Chang, chairwoman of the government-owned Taiwan Financial Holding Co., the nation's largest financial services provider.

The Government Shareholding Management and Supervisory Unit under the Executive Yuan passed the regulations Wednesday after it was revealed that Taiwan Asset Management Corp. (Tamco) Chairman Chen Sung-chu has enriched himself out of proportion to his worth.

Chen made NT$400,000 a month, with an additional NT$150,000 in monthly public relations fees, far more than the NT$180,000 received by Finance Minister Lee Sush-der, according to local media reports.

The Tamco chairman ...


Taiwan shares open higher (Mar 11)
The Taiwan Stock Exchange's main index opened higher Thursday than its previous close, moving up 38.51 points at 7,817.59 on a turnover of NT$2.43 billion (US$75.94 million).

The weighted price index gained 8.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,779.08 Wednesday.


Foreign exchange rates (Mar 11)
The exchange rates for major foreign currencies quoted in New Taiwan dollars by Chang Hwa Bank Thursday.

BUYING RATES SELLING RATES US dollar 31.534 31.934 Euro 42.80 43.80 Hong Kong dollar 4.040 4.140 Japanese yen 0.3476 0.3536 Australian dollar 28.90 29.10 Canadian dollar 30.84 31.04 Pound sterling 47.30 47.70 Singapore dollar 22.59 22.79 South African rand 4.232 4.332 Sweden krone 4.401 4.501 Swiss Franc 29.53 29.73 Thai baht 0.9576 0.9976 N. Zealand dollar 22.10 22.30 Chinese yuan 4.499 4.719

* Exchange rates for the US dolla...


US dollar down in early Taipei trading (Mar 11)
The U.S. dollar was traded at NT$31.738 at 10 a.m. Thursday on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, down NT$0.109 from Wednesday's close.


China Steel to raise June prices, report says (Mar 11)
(ChinaPost.com.tw) - China Steel Corp., Taiwan’s largest maker of the metal, will increase prices for domestic customers by at least US$50 a metric ton in June after costs to produce steel rose, the United Evening News reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.