■ Banking
Construction Bank to cut jobs
One of China's biggest banks plans to cut more than 100,000 jobs, or about one-third of its workforce, as it prepares to sell its first shares to foreign investors, according to a major state newspaper. The Construction Bank, China's third-largest state-owned commercial bank, is expected to sell up to US$5 billion worth of shares in a public offering sometime in the next two years. Other major state banks are also expected to raise money through share sales. The communist government is trying to turn its debt-laden banks into profitable, competitive businesses as it prepares to open its financial markets to foreign rivals.
■ Free Trade
Parliament approves deal
South Korea's parliament yesterday approved the country's first free trade agreement, an accord reached with Chile a year ago but delayed by protests of local farmers who fear it will threaten their livelihoods. The National Assembly endorsed the pact 162-71. Lawmakers put off votes on the issue three times amid violent demonstrations by farmers who say the accord will flood the Korean market with cheaper products. Under the trade pact signed by the two governments last February, Chile will lift tariffs on South Korean motor vehicles, cellular phones, computers, TV sets and air conditioners. In return, South Korea will remove tariffs on Chilean copper products, animal feed, wheat, wool and tomatoes, as well as more than 250 fisheries products. South Korean farmers have threatened to campaign against lawmakers who support the trade agreement in the upcoming April 15 elections.
■ Music
Government mulls ban
The government is considering imposing a ban on the import of low-priced Japanese pop music CDs, made exclusively and legally for overseas markets by Japanese firms, news reports said yesterday. The Agency for Cultural Affairs is considering the ban in response to complaints from Japanese music companies which claim their business is being hurt by an influx of CDs intended for sale in other countries, mostly in the Asian region, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun daily said. The ban, which is likely to take effect in 2005, would be effective for five years after the release of the CDs and would also cover cassette tapes and vinyl records. The music industry welcomed the reports. CDs of Japanese pop songs and other popular music sell for ?550 to ?1,600 (US$5 to US$15) in many Asian nations, such as China and South Korea, compared with ?2,500 or more in Japan, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
■ Aviation
Honda to work on engines
Honda Motor Co will work with General Electric Co of the US to make jet engines for small business planes, both sides said yesterday, marking the Japanese automaker's entry into the aviation industry. The basic agreement signed Friday covers marketing Honda's HF118 turbofan jet engine under a joint brand while continuing discussions to come up with a plan to mass produce the engine. Honda started its jet engine and aircraft project in 1986 and has carried out test flights of the HF118 engine, which is for small business jets, a market that is expected to grow in the US. Honda Chief Executive Takeo Fukui said General Electric was chosen because of its sales network and experience in jet engines.
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
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
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