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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rational who wrote (529)	1/7/1998 9:40:00 AM
From: Thomas Haegin	Respond to of 9980

Repost: Motorola to invest $15 mln in Taiwan plant (Reuters) To All: Some good news regarding Taiwan. Thomas ------Start------------- Reuters Story - January 07, 1998 05:20 %TW MOT V%REUTER P%RTR By Lawrence Chung TAIPEI, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S.-based Motorola Inc said on Wednesday it would invest US$15 million in its Chungli plant in northern Taiwan, reflecting its confidence in the island's economic strength amid Asian financial turmoil. "Following the approval of the economic ministry, Motorola will make an additional US$15 million investment in Taiwan" in 1998, said Richard Younts, executive vice president and president of the company's Asian Pacific region. The investment in the plant, which makes semiconductors and telecommunications chips, will be used to expand the plant's production line. Motorola decided to expand its operation and investment on the island because of Taiwan's relatively strong economic fundamentals, Younts said. "During 1997, there were several rumours that Motorola would stop its investment in Taiwan and potentially withdraw it. I am here today to put the rumours at rest," Younts said. "Taiwan has recently weathered the financial turmoil remarkably well," Younts said. Despite the Taiwan dollar's decade-low close on Wednesday at T$34.400 against the U.S. dollar, economists generally agreed the local unit had been weathering Asia's turmoil well. The local currency fell about 16 percent in 1997 -- enough to keep Taiwan competitive in export markets without creating damaging debt service and import burdens, the economists said. Younts said the Taiwan dollar's resilenence proved the island's economy was firm and that its investment environment stable. Thomas Marecek, business director of the company's crystal operations component products division, said the investment would help the Taiwan plant to increase its production and technological capacity, thereby bringing the plant up to next level of development. Taiwan plant general manager T.H. Chen said the investment would start in 1998, and more capital investments will be made each year. Motorola, the first foreign company to sign a strategic alliance agreement in development of this field of industry with Taiwan in 1993, opened its Chungli plant in 1985. The plant's 1996 sales amounted to T$18.3 billion, and 80 percent of its products were used to supply the company's facilities in the United States and other parts of the world. -- Taipei newsroom (886) 2-2508-0815; Fax (886) 2-2508-0204 -- Email: taipei.newsroomreuters.com --------------End--------------------

To: Rational who wrote (529)	1/7/1998 11:18:00 AM
From: Esvida	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

Sankar, I'm not sure whether you're intentional or unintentional, but you really quote Doc Greenspan way off context. Please forgive me for being a little rude to ask you a blunt question. Have you read his whole speech? IMO, when one refers to someone's else opinion, one should be careful to be clear whether the reference is one's interpretation or a verbatim quote. To present one's interpretation as a quote is misleading at best and intellectually dishonest at worst. To stretch the negative sentiment even further, I'm beginning to wonder whether any market on Earth has discounted the belief that the Sun will burn out in a few more blinks of the universe. -Al

To: Rational who wrote (529)	1/7/1998 3:16:00 PM
From: Geoff Nunn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

The fear is that the herd can/will change the direction, e.g., to Asia. If it happens suddenly, there will be a "very rapid decline in US asset values," as Greenspan cautioned. [US$, stocks, and bonds will fall]. Sankar, just to add my 2 cents worth, I believe A1 is correct in suggesting you took Greenspan out of context in a seriously misleading way. In the Wall Street Journal piece, Greenspan is quoted as cautioning that "very rapid asset price declines - in equity and real estate especially" - can be " a virulently negative force in the economy." The WSJ emphasized that Greenspan did not predict a stock market plunge, nor did he even comment on the current level of the stock market. The only prediction in the article I could find Greenspan making, if it can be called that, is positive. He dismisses the chances of a decline in prices of goods and services as "not...a significant near-term risk." (an outspoken minority of economists recently have suggested otherwise) Greenspan went on to explain why rapidly declining asset prices would be bad, and explains why slowly deflating prices would be less worrisome. The bulk of his address, btw, dealt with none of this but instead addressed the intracies of accurately measuring inflation. Greenspan said nothing even remotely suggesting he fears a herd phenomenon is presently out there -- one that could suddenly change direction and thereby precipitate rapid U.S. deflation. Geoff P.S. BTW, isn't it a bit disingenuous to suggest as you did that reading Greenspan's entire speech could have compromised your independence?