■Tourism
Slump cripples Indonesia
Indonesia's tourist arrivals fell 20 percent in June from a year earlier because tourists visiting Bali shrank by more than a third, the Central Bureau of Statistics in Jakarta said. Indonesia received 299,856 overseas tourists in June, of which 85,675 headed for Bali. Arrivals have been dropping since the Oct. 12 terror attack on the resort island that killed at least 202 people. It fell further in April on the SARS outbreak in Asia. Last year, Indonesia's tourism industry earned US$4.3 billion in foreign exchange from 5.03 million tourists, 20 percent less revenue than in 2001.
■ Airlines
JAL won't change forecast
Japan Airlines System Corp, Asia's largest carrier, reported a fiscal first-quarter loss, the second Japanese airline to do so in as many days after the SARS virus caused a slump in air travel demand. The airline left its full- year forecast unchanged.Japan Airlines had a group net loss of Japanese Yen 77.3 billion (US$642 million), or Japanese Yen 39.4 a share, for the three months ended June 30, the company said in a statement distributed through the Tokyo Stock Exchange. First-quarter sales totaled Japanese Yen 398.8 billion. This is the first time the airline has reported quarterly results and it didn't provide year-earlier comparisons. Japan Airlines' first-quarter operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, was Japanese Yen 77 billion, while the current loss, or pretax loss from operations, came to Japanese Yen 76.8 billion.
■ Electronics
Delta gains from forex
Delta Electronics (Thailand) Pcl, a unit of the world's biggest maker of computer power systems and chargers, said second-quarter profit rose 35 percent because foreign-exchange gains made up for slumping sales. Net income rose to 667.7 million baht (US$15.9 million) from 495.3 million baht in the second quarter of last year. Bangkok-based Delta Thailand protected itself against currency swings even as demand waned for flat-panel displays, its other product, and customers demanded lower prices for its power systems. Computer monitors account for a third of sales.
■ Banking
Defaults rise in Singapore
Bad debt written off by banks on credit and charge cards hit a 12-year high in June as prolonged joblessness and dwindling savings caused more people in Singapore to go into default, official figures showed on Friday. The Monetary Authority of Singapore reported banks here wrote off S$17.5 million (US$10 million). Banks typically write off debt as uncollectable when they have not received any payment for six months. Bankers said many white-collar workers, particularly those in their 40s and 50s, have lost their jobs and are unable to pay their bills. "It didn't happen overnight," Francis Hsu, senior vice president at United Overseas Bank (UOB), told The Straits Times. Bankers are hoping the economy will improve in the second half of the year, helping defaulters improve their ability to service their loans, Hsu said. Singapore's economy contracted by 11.8 percent in the second quarter from the preceding three months as a result of the SARS outbreak. The government expects a recovery in the second half to help the economy post full-year growth of 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent.
Agencies
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft