■ Semiconductors
Japan begins Hynix probe
The Japanese government yesterday began an investi-gation into chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc's request to impose tariffs on Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said. Elpida Memory, a closely held venture between NEC Corp and Hitachi Ltd, asked the government in June to impose tariffs on Hynix's chips, claiming the company is subsidized by the South Korean government. "We've concluded the case has sufficient proof to let us start investigation," Tani-gaki said at a press confer-ence in Tokyo. Hynix, the world's third-largest maker of computer memory chips, already faces a 44 percent tariff from the US and a 35 percent duty from the EU.
■ Insurance
MetLife buys stake in SEI
MetLife Inc, the second-largest US insurer, said its South Korean unit bought a stake in SEI Asset Korea, paving the way for a move into the country's US$144 billion mutual fund market. MetLife Insurance Co. of Korea signed a contract to buy the 34 percent stake from Seoul-based Tong Yang Investment Bank for an undisclosed price, SEI Asset said in a statement. MetLife believes the stake purchase will "allow us to develop and distribute long-term savings and retirement benefit products to both individuals and corpora-tions," MetLife Korea chief executive Stuart Solomon said in the statement. Pennsylvania-based SEI Investments Co will remain SEI Asset Korea's biggest shareholder with a 50.1 percent stake while Interna-tional Finance Corp retains a 9.9 percent stake.
■ Banking
Banker charged with theft
A Citibank employee in Singapore has been charged with embezzling almost S$4.8 million (US$2.79 million) through the bank's computer system in what could be the biggest case of cyber theft in the city-state, the Straits Times reported yesterday. A district court on Friday charged senior executive William Ng Wee Lip, 38, with 104 violations of the Computer Misuse Act, the paper said. Ng allegedly transferred money from the bank's accounts between May 1996 and August last year to his own account and those of several others. He faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to S$50,000.
■ Automobiles
China accepts Ford's credit
The Ford Motor Co's credit arm has won preliminary approval to open up shop in China, the automaker said yesterday. The company said the China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved the company's initial application to provide auto financing to consumers and some 100 Ford dealers across China. Ford Credit will make an initial invest-ment of US$60 million to establish its presence in the booming market. The Ford unit will go by the name Ford Automotive Finance in China.
■ Infrastructure
Beijing invests in toilets
Beijing plans to boost investment to build more lavatories and keep them stocked with toilet paper, the China Daily said yester-day. The city government, trying to polish its image as it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games, pledged to invest more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) a year into modernizing its latrine infrastructure, the paper said. Under the new cam-paign, lavatories must be equipped with toilet paper, soap, hand dryers and access for disabled people.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)