■ Mobile phones
Nokia's UK share drops
Nokia Oyj had its UK market share for mobile phones fall to less than 40 percent from 60 percent last year because it failed to offer new designs, the Sunday Times reported, citing market researcher Gfk. The newspaper didn't give specific times for the market shares provided by Gfk. Nokia, the world's biggest mobile-phone maker, said last Tuesday that first-quarter sales unexpectedly fell 2 percent as competitors such as Siemens AG and Samsung Electronics Co increased sales by developing more popular handsets. The stock dropped 17 percent after the announcement, the biggest decline in almost three years. Customers have been frustrated by Nokia's refusal to tailor handsets to their desires, Ben Wood, an analyst at researcher Gartner Inc said last week.
■ Singapore
Job situation still rocky
Singapore, which expects growth of as much as 5.5 percent this year, will see a pickup in employment only after the economy improves because of a lag between a recovery and job creation, Channel NewsAsia reported, citing Lim Boon Heng (林文興), a minister in Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's (吳作棟) office. Lim, who is also head of the government-backed Nation-al Trades Union Con-gress, said public agencies will cut fewer jobs this year com-pared with last year, the report said. Government agencies such as the Inland Revenue Authority and the Sports Council may cut jobs as a higher dependence on information technology reduces the need for workers, the report said. Singapore expects unem-ployment to fall to as low as 4 percent at the end of the year after rising to a record 5.5 percent in the third quarter.
■ India
Inflation likely to rise
India's inflation rate may reach 5 percent in the next few months, the Financial Express reported, citing economists including B.B. Bhattacharya, director at the Institute of Economic Growth. Increasing money supply fueled by a buildup in the country's foreign-exchange reserves and a forecast increase in petro-leum prices after national elections this month and next will stoke inflation, the paper said. India's foreign-exchange reserves, inclu-ding foreign currency, gold, and reserves and special drawing rights in its IMF account, grew by US$1.07 billion to a record US$112.7 billion in the week ended April 2, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement on Saturday. India's inflation rate climbed to 4.47 percent in the week ended March 27, from 4.3 percent the previous week, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Friday.
■ Automobiles
Two-stage revival plan
DaimlerChrysler AG's ¥500 billion (US$4.7 billion) plan to revive Mitsubishi Motors Corp will be implemented in two stages and involve funding from Mitsubishi group companies, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported, citing unnamed people at the company. Daimler-Chrysler, the biggest share-holder of Mitsubishi Motors, will inject as much as ¥370 billion capital into the auto-maker this year, the paper said. The German manu-facturer will provide the rest of the funds after a few years and an assessment of Mitsubishi Motors' finances, the paper said. It may raise its stake in Mitsubishi Motors to more than 51 percent, after the Japanese firm cut its ¥1.14 trillion debt, Mitsubishi officials said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from