■ Privatization
France sells Dassault stake
France is selling its entire 15.74-percent stake in French industrial software group Dassault Systemes, French bank Societe Generale said Tuesday. The sale, through a placement of shares with qualified investors on the internat-ional market, was expected to generate between 530 million and 580 million euros (US$571 million to US$625 million), the bank, which is managing the deal with Credit Suisse First Boston, said. Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, which owns 45.22 percent of Dassault Systemes, will waive its pre-emption rights on the state holding, Societe Generale said. Shares in Dassault Systemes surged 3 percent to 3.66 euros in opening trading while the CAC 40 index of leading French stocks gained 0.96 percent.
■ Real estate
Singapore rents drop 12.5%
Office rents in Singapore's prime districts dropped by a steep 12.5 percent, the biggest quarterly drop among major Asian cities, a research report said yesterday. Rents in the city-state for the three-month period ending in June slipped to S$3.10 (US$1.78) per square foot (psf), ranking behind Tokyo, Bombay, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul and Beijing. The report by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) cited the SARS outbreak and economic uncertainty as reasons behind the fall. Tokyo saw a milder 1.47 percent decline in monthly prime office rents to US$7.87 psf, but remained the most expensive in the region. Taking second was Bombay where office rents declined 4.6 percent to US$2.26 psf, ahead of Hong Kong where grade A office rents were US$2.15 psf.
■ Macroeconomics
Japan watches interest rates
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said yesterday he would be watching to see if the recent surge in long-term interest rates thwarts emerging expectations of a much-awaited economic recovery in Japan. Fukui also stressed the central bank was still "obliged to pursue monetary easing" to get the economy back on a sustained recovery path and overcome deflation. His comments came after the yield on the most-actively traded No. 252 10-year government bonds reached the highest levels since December 2000. The yield stood at barely above 0.40 percent just a few months ago. "The possibility of an economic recovery in Japan is strengthening ... in line with our scenario," Fukui said in a speech to a gathering in the central Japanese city of Nagoya, citing positive economic data and surging share prices.
■ Labor
Nestle to vacate Korea
Nestle, the Swiss-based multinational food giant, said yesterday it is considering pulling out of South Korea because of "reckless" labor unrest. "Our head office has instructed us to consider legal steps for the closure of Nestle's plant in South Korea," a Nestle Korea spokeswoman told reporters. She said Nestle's manage-ment was exasperated by "reckless" labor action by workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a militant labor group. The group has led a wave of labor strife, demanding shorter working hours and union participation in manage-ment decision-making which has already led to the closure of four foreign-invested firms operating in South Korea this year. Nestle Korea's 460-member union went on strike on July 7 demanding a 11.7 percent pay hike and a say in management. The company has proposed a 5.25 percent wage increase.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique