The Taiwan optical-lens manufacturer Baso Precision Optics Ltd. Recently expanded its operations into the production of lenses for camera handsets. The company has traditionally made lenses for mid-range and high-performance digital cameras and scanners. Baso was founded in 1970 by Robert Bosch

Taipei, Sept. 24, 2003 (CENS)--The N. T. dollar posted a sharp rise of NT$0.253 to close at NT$33.805 to US$1 on Sept. 22, causing the weighted price index of the local bourse to drop 82.16 that day. But Taiwan's makers of information technology (IT) products felt O.K. about the appreciation of the

Taipei, Sept. 22, 2003 (CENS)--After careful assessment, the government has decided to incorporate the 'M-Taiwan' (mobile Taiwan) plan into its recently finalized five-year project, which is estimated to cost NT$500 billion (US$14.5 billion at US$1 = NT$34.5). The "M-Taiwan" plan may attract par

Worldwide demand for machine tools is projected to grow at a steady pace over the next few years, thanks to the steady recovery of the global economy and expected heavy investment in the 3C industries--computers, communications, and consumer electronics. The ongoing development of the 3C industr

Most of Taiwan's disk suppliers returned to profitability in the first half of this year, a happy change from the losses suffered in 2002, thanks largely to rising CD-R prices and cuts in non-core business spending. For example, first-half gross profit margins of first-tier suppliers Ritek Corp.

To help with the transformation and technological upgrading of domestic mold and die manufacturers, the Taiwan Mold and Die Industry Association (TMDIA) has decided to set up a task force to carry out the creation of a five-industry cooperation system--encompassing backlight panels for liquid-cryst

Taipei, Aug. 22, 2003 (CENS)--Several game software developers in Taiwan are expanding into the cell phone online game business and hoping to develop games for Nokia's new N-Gage game deck handset model. Nokia, the No. 1 cell phone brand in the world, and Sega Corp. of Japan just announced an ag

Taipei, Aug. 15, 2003 (CENS)--The New Taiwan dollar ended slightly lower against its U.S. counterpart yesterday on intervention by the central bank, dealers said. The local unit closed the session at NT$34.387, compared with Wednesday's NT$34.385. Total turnover at the Taipei Foreign Exchange f

Taipei, Aug. 15, 2003 (CENS)--Of four main local chemical manufacturers listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, China Steel Chemical Corp. and Evermore Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Enjoyed revenue growth in July while the other two suffered decreases. The other two companies are T. N. C. Industrial

Taipei, Aug. 11, 2003 (CENS)--Chinatrust Financial Holding Co. will raise up to NT$35 billion in funds by issuing debentures and corporate bonds by the end of this year, company officials said late last week. Chinatrust Commercial Bank, the core banking unit of the holding company, will issue u

Taipei, Aug. 5, 2003 (CENS)--The New Taiwan dollar ended higher against its U.S. counterpart yesterday on selling of U.S. dollars by exporters and inflows of foreign equity funds, dealers said. The local unit closed at NT$34.430, compared with NT$34.510 in the previous session. Total turnover a

Taipei, Aug. 4, 2003 (CENS)--Ya Hsin Industrial Co., Ltd., a main local PCB (printed circuit board) manufacturer listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, scored net (after-tax) earnings per share (EPS) of NT$1.96 for the first half of this year. Ya Hsin produces PCBs used in PlayStation 2 (PS2), X-B

Taipei, July 31, 2003 (CENS)--T. N. C. Industrial Co., Ltd., a main local manufacturer of coating chemicals listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, will cooperate with SNPE of France to establish a joint venture factory of nitrocellulose in the east of mainland China. T. N. C. Industrial's board of

Taipei, July 21, 2003 (CENS)--Three listed local manufacturers of machines garnered robust pretax profits in the first half of this year, with Kao Fong Machinery Co., Ltd. Recording the highest earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.9. The other two companies are Chian Hsing Forging Industry Co., Ltd.

L.L. Wang, chairman of the Eastern Group, recently set an ambitious goal for his enterprise: to become the world's largest Chinese-language TV media group by 2007, with revenues of over NT$77.6 billion (US$2.2 billion at NT$35:US$1). To meet this goal the group's affiliates--Eastern TV, Eastern

Taipei, May 30, 2003 (CENS)--The largest accounting firm in Taiwan will emerge on Sunday, June 1 out of the merger of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and T N Soong & Co. The new company will have 115 partners with a total of 2,000 employees. The new company will operate in Taiwan under the new the name

Taipei, May 20, 2003 (CENS)--The online games market in Taiwan registered a sharp growth rate of 83% last year to expand the share on the Asia-Pacific market to 26%, second only to that of South Korea. The latest research on the online games market by IDC shows that the scale of the market in th

Taipei, May 19, 2003 (CENS)--EnTie Commercial Bank plans to sell NT$8 billion to NT$10 billion worth of non-performing loans to asset management companies in October, a bank's top executive said late last week. Losses resulting from the planned sale will be written off in five year so that it w

Taipei, May 19, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan Family Mart Co., Ltd., the operator of the local Family Mart chain of convenience stores, reaped earnings per share (EPS) of NT$0.61 for the first four months of this year. Taiwan Family Mart is listed on the local over-the-counter bourse. The company garnered

Taipei, May 2, 2003 (CENS)--Macronix International Co. said yesterday that the firm suffered after-tax losses of NT$3.12 billion in the first quarter, compared with only NT$2.7 billion in the same period of 2002 and translating into loss of NT$0.88 per share. In the first quarter, the local memo

Taipei, April 22, 2003 (CENS)--Radiant Opto-Electronics Corp., a main local producer of backlight modules listed on the local over-the-counter (OTC) bourse, will distribute a dividend per share of NT$4.5, NT$3.5 in stock and N$1.0 in cash, for its operation in 2002. Radiant Opto-Electronics' boa

Taipei, April 17, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan Family Mart Co., Ltd., the operator of the local Family Mart chain of convenience stores, reaped pretax profit of NT$26.82 million last month, soaring by 304.74% from March last year. Listed on the local over-the-counter bourse, Taiwan Family Mart garnered N

Taipei, April 11, 2003 (CENS)--Three local manufacturers of rubber tires listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) witnessed their revenues for last quarter increase by 16.16%-17.05% from the first quarter of last year. The three companies are Cheng Shin Rubber Industrial Co., Ltd., Kenda Rubb

Taipei, April 7, 2003 (CENS)--Siward Crystal Technology Co., Ltd., a main local manufacturer of crystal oscillators and other devices listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, witnessed its revenue of NT$63 million for last month jump by 37% from March last year. Siward Crystal's revenue for March al

Taipei, April 3, 2003 (CENS)--Gamania Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Gamania), an online game service provider based in Taiwan, will fire staff at its Japanese subsidiary due to losses last year. Over the past few years, many entertainment software developers and online game service providers

Taipei, March 28, 2003 (CENS)--Advanced International Multitech Co., Ltd. Will distribute the highest dividend per share of NT$4.5 for 2002 operation among three listed local manufacturers of golf heads. The other two companies are Fu Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd. And O-Ta Precision Industry Co.,

Taipei, March 24, 2003 (CENS)--Hwa Fong Rubber Ind. Co., Ltd., a local manufacturer of rubber tires listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, will establish a subsidiary manufacturer in Changshu of Jiangsu Province, mainland China, with the production to begin at the end of 2004. Hwa Fong's sharehold

Taipei, March 20, 2003 (CENS)--Soft-World International Corp. and Gamania Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd., among local providers of entertainment software and on-line game services, will distribute the largest dividends per share of NT$5.0 and N$4.0, respectively, for last year's operations. The

Taipei, March 20, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwan Family Mart Co., Ltd., the operator of the local Family Mart chain of convenience stores, will distribute a dividend per share of NT$1.5, NT$0.8 in stock and NT$0.7 in cash, for its operation last year. Taiwan Family Mart is listed on the local over-the-coun

Taipei, March 14, 2003 (CENS)--The imminent U.S.-led military attack on Iraq could have a positive effect on Taiwan economy if the war can quickly wind up within three months, according to an evaluation report drawn up by the Executive Yuan (Cabinet). At a meeting chaired by President Chen Shui-