China's Vice Premier Wu Yi (
The Forbes list of the world's 100 most powerful women was topped by Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser of US President George W. Bush, according to a Forbes press statement released here.
Top Singapore businesswoman Ho Ching (
Sonia Gandhi, the president of India's ruling Congress Party who wields immense influence behind the scenes after turning down the job of prime minister, came in third.
In fourth place was US First Lady Laura Bush, followed by Senator Hillary Clinton and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Another US Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, was in seventh place, trailed by Megawati, Arroyo and Hewlett-Packard chair and chief executive Carly Fiorina.
Forbes said it came up with the list by devising a power scorecard.
"For each candidate, we came up with a numerical weight defined by her title and resume, the size of the economic sphere in which she wields power ... and the number of global media mentions," the magazine said.
Among the other Asia-Pacific women in the list are Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia (14), New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark (43), Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga (44) and Myanmar opposition leader Ang San Suu Kyi (45).
Singapore's Ho, who runs state investment arm Temasek Holdings, was No. 24, reflecting her influence as manager of the city-state's multibillion-dollar global business empire.
Peng Peiyun, president of the All-China Women's Federation, was No. 47 on the list, while Xie Qihua, chairwoman and president of the Shanghai Baosteel Group (
Forbes said the list had made "a refreshing break from the conventional wisdom about women and power" by breaking the notion that women can only gain power by working behind the scenes and forging consensus.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was 21st on the list, while the UK's first lady, Cherie Blair, was number 12.
Queen Rania of Jordan was in 13th place, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 22nd place and television host Barbara Walters was in 25th place.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Standard Chartered Taiwan on March 26 announced that it has partnered with international fintech firm FinIQ to build an “Automated Structured Products Pricing Platform.” The bank is also introducing products from global issuers including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC and BNP Paribas SA. The new platform enables an end-to-end process whereby it finds the most competitive pricing across multiple issuers in a matter of minutes, followed by automated documentation and transaction execution, which significantly shortens time-to-market and delivers a superior wealth management experience. Standard Chartered Bank Taiwan CEO Anthony Yu (游天立) said: “Standard Chartered is increasingly leveraging its wealth management
RSS