■ Oil industry
Malaysian reserves dwindle
Malaysia might no longer have crude oil exports as a revenue source by the end of this decade because the country's reserves are dwindling, the government said yesterday. "Malaysia is an oil exporter, but if we do not find new oil reserves, then by 2009, we will become a net importer. This means we cannot continue to lean on the oil sector," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said. He did not elaborate in his speech at the annual congress of Malaysia's ruling party. Officials have said Malaysia has recoverable oil reserves for the next 19 years and of gas for 33 more years, but might be forced to become a net oil importer much sooner than that if domestic demand surges too fast in coming years. Malaysia's state-owned oil company, Petronas, has already begun investing in oil exploration in countries as far afield as Sudan and Egypt and in the Caspian Sea.
■ Moneylaundering
Japan to step up scrutiny
In an effort to stop the flow of money to terrorists, Japan plans to check the identity of people transferring even relatively small amounts of money to other people's foreign or domestic accounts, a report said yesterday. Banks will be required to check a driver's license or passport for transfers possibly as low as ¥100,000 (US$890) under new rules the regulatory Financial Services Agency wants to introduce around December next year, Kyodo News agency said, citing agency officials it didn't identify. Japan currently requires banks to confirm the identify of customers transferring ¥2 million (US$17,900) or more, the report said. One hurdle that must be overcome with the new rules is how to confirm the identity of senders who transfer money using automatic teller machines, it said.
■ Coffee
Low prices harm societies
Low coffee prices have deepened poverty and social problems in producer nations, the head of the International Coffee Organization said on Friday, calling for more stable prices to help the world's poor. Nestor Osorio said delegates from coffee-producing nations will open the second World Coffee Conference on Sept. 23 and will look for ways to stabilize prices. "We have to invest in projects to improve quality, and when quality improves, income improves," Osorio said. He said coffee prices are cyclical, dropping sharply in years when supply is abundant and rising when supply drops. But the decline often drives small producers out of the market before prices rise again. After the conference, the organization plans to create an international coffee council to examine the results of the conference and make formal recommendations to create stabler prices.
■ Airlines
US panel approves merger
A US federal panel on Friday approved a bid by US Airways Group Inc and America West Holdings Corp to merge, clearing a hurdle to the companies' goal of combining to compete against lower-cost rivals. The federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board said the proposed merger "should better both airlines' competitiveness in a challenging industry environment." US Airways Group, based in Arlington, Virginia, is the seventh-largest carrier in the US. America West of Tempe, Arizona, is the eighth-largest. The deal, which has gotten a green light from the Justice Department, must still be cleared by the US Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Virginia. The merger with America West is designed to provide the final investment necessary to allow US Airways to emerge from bankruptcy.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the