■ Microsoft Japan
PC makers to assist probe
Japanese personal-computer (PC) makers will cooperate with the authorities in Japan investigating Microsoft Corp, the world's largest maker of personal computer software, for suspected violation of the country's anti-monopoly law. Japan's Fair Trade Commission on Thursday asked Sony Corp, Sharp Corp and other Japanese PC makers to help the watchdog organization in its investigation into whether licensing of Microsoft's Windows XP operating software violates the anti- monopoly law. The commission raided the Tokyo office of Microsoft on Thursday to obtain information regarding its licensing provisions.
■ Financial Sector
Prudential seals purchase
Prudential Financial said yesterday it had sealed the US$300 million purchase of South Korean investment trust company Hyundai Investment and Securities Co. The deal makes the US firm the largest foreign-owned asset manager in the country, the company said after it finalized the agreement signed in November to acquire an 80 percent stake in Hyundai Investment for 355.5 billion won (US$300 million). The firm said it had immediately assumed control of Hyundai Investment and its subsidiary Hyundai Investment Trust Management, whose names were changed respectively to Prudential Investment and Securities Co and Prudential Asset Management Co.
■ Japan
Industrial output rises
Japan's economy is gathering strength on the back of strong exports, especially to China, coupled with a rise in domestic consumption, government data showed yesterday. Industrial output in the world's second largest economy jumped 3.4 percent in January from December for the biggest increase since September last year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. China is Japan's second biggest export market, accounting for some 13 percent, after the US, which takes a quarter. In other data, the jobless rate in January edged up to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in December, marking the first rise in three months, but the actual number of people unemployed fell, said the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommun-ications.
■ Semiconductors
Fujitsu plans new plant
Fujitsu Ltd, Japan's second biggest maker of telecommunications equipment, is considering building a plant to make larger semiconductor wafers that cut production costs by up to 30 percent. Fujitsu is studying the size and location of a plant that will make chips on 12 inch wafers, the Tokyo-based company said in a faxed statement. Fujitsu will spend ?160 billion (US$1.5 billion) to build a chip plant in Mie Prefecture, western Japan, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported earlier, without saying where it obtained the information. Fujitsu will make the chips on the larger wafers because they yield more than double the number of chips that can be made from standard eight-inch disks. The company joins other chipmaking companies such as United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) in building new plants as existing facilities run at capacity because of a rebound in demand for consumer electronics such as cell phones, computers and DVD players after a three-year slump.
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