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

To: B Tate who wrote (886)	1/15/1998 5:48:00 AM
From: Stitch	Respond to of 9980

Hi BT, Yes, I saw this this morning and posted it on the Seagate and DD threads. I have been expecting this and am now just curious how deep it will go. We should know when they announce I expect. I see this as sort of inevitable. Best, Stitch

To: B Tate who wrote (886)	1/15/1998 5:58:00 AM
From: Thomas Haegin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Repost: Taiwan airlines still bullish despite Asia turmoil Reuters Story - January 15, 1998 00:08 By Alice Hung TAIPEI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan's two international airlines say they expect business to grow and intend to carry on their aircraft orders despite the currency turmoil that has hit Asia. Taiwan-based China Airlines and EVA Air said they were unlikely to suffer a severe impact as the island's economy had emerged largely unscathed from the financial meltdown. The airlines forecast moderate growth in 1998 due to the Taiwan dollar's appreciation against many Asian currencies and the government's recent introduction of shorter working hours, giving employees two-day weekends twice a month that might be used for trips away. "The Asian financial storm has some effect on our business, and we are closely following its development," a spokesman for China Airlines, Taiwan's largest international carrier, said by telephone. "But we have not seen the need to alter our plane purchases or to revise our forecast," the spokesman said. "We have heard some Asian airlines have planned to cancel their plane orders and it occurs to us that we may get some good bargains because of the cancellation," the China Airlines spokesman said jokingly. Philippine Airlines [PHL.CN] said on Wednesday it planned to cancel orders for four Boeing 747-400s. Philippine Airlines gave no reason for the move but a local newspaper said it was due mainly to the huge debts and reduced profits of the airlines. The Taiwan dollar, which depreciated a relatively moderate 16 percent against the U.S. dollar in 1997, appreciated against many other Asian currencies. "We expect the number of Taiwan visitors to southeast Asia to rise since the Taiwan dollar appreciation makes its relatively inexpensive to visit the region," the spokesman said. "The implementation of the five-day work week will also boost visits to the southeast Asia," he added. EVA Air, Taiwan's second largest international carrier, has projected a striking 70 percent year-on-year rise to T$800 million in its 1997 pre-tax profit. EVA painted a rosy outlooks for 1998. "We are optimistic about the 1998 outlook. Our revenues are expected to increase by about 10 to 12 percent and we should manage to keep the same level of profits like 1997," EVA president Richard Huang told Reuters in a recent interview. EVA is a subsidiary of one of the world's leading shipping giants, Evergreen Marine Corp . In November 1997, EVA signed a letter of intent to buy six long-haul A340-500 and A350-600 planes from the European consortium Airbus Industrie [ARBU.CN] and took options for six more. The orders and options are worth an estimated $1.86 billion at catalogue prices. EVA and Airbus planned to make the deal final in late January. EVA plans to have 60 aircraft by 2003, almost doubling its current fleet of 31, a mix of 747-400s, 767-300s, 767-200s, MD-11s and MD-90s, all from Boeing or its recently acquired Douglas unit. China Airlines has placed an order with Airbus for the purchase of a twin-engine widebody A300-600 aircraft, scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 1999. China Airlines have said it planned to buy 24 new planes by the end of 2003, taking the size of its fleet to 67.