■ IPO
Google delays offering
Google Inc is delaying its initial public offering (IPO) by a week because of logistical problems related to institutional investors registering to bid on the shares, according to a per-son familiar with the matter. The delay wasn't caused by a technological problem or a lack of bidders, the per-son stressed. Rather, the process of registering bid-ders for the auction-style IPO is taking longer than anticipated, the source said. Part of the problem, the person said, was that the IPO, which is being led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston, is being handled through an auction format that had never been tried before. "It's all new," the person said. "We just hit a speedbump." Officially, Google had never set a date for the deal, though people familiar with the matter had pegged the date for next week. A delay would push the deal later into a month that is traditionally light on IPO volume.
■ Banking
HSBC buys stake in China
British bank HSBC is buying a 19.9 percent stake in one of China's biggest state banks for US$1.7 billion, dramatically expanding the foreign presence in the top ranks of Chinese finance, state television reported yesterday. HSBC signed an agreement yesterday to buy into Shanghai-based Bank of Communications, one of the country's main state-owned commercial banks. The deal is the biggest move yet by a foreign bank into the nation's rapidly evolving banking industry. Beijing has promised to let foreign banks compete on an equal footing with Chinese institu-tions by 2006 under commit-ments to the WTO. It would give HSBC a platform to promote credit cards and other products to China's growing consumer market, possibly giving it an edge over foreign rivals such Citibank and Standard Chartered.
■ Entertainment
Sony BMG launched
Sony Music Entertainment and BMG, the music unit of the German media conglom-erate Bertelsmann AG, said on Thursday they have formally combined their music businesses. Sony BMG Music Entertainment will rival Vivendi's Universal Music Group for market share. Sony BMG will be headquartered in New York. Sony and Bertelsmann each own half of the new com-bined company. The deal did not include the parent companies' music publish-ing, manufacturing or physical distribution busi-nesses. The Federal Trade Commission approved the merger last week. Andrew Lack, Sony Music's former chairman and chief execu-tive, was named chief executive of the new firm.
■ Investment
Merrill Lynch buys stake
Merrill Lynch Securities
has signed a deal with South Korea's LG Card Co to invest US$400 million in the heavily indebted credit card issuer, LG Card said yester-day. "It is true that Merrill Lynch has agreed to buy
all the US$400 million worth of asset-backed securities which we are going to issue in mid-October," a LG Card spokesman said. LG Card said earlier Merrill Lynch would serve as the lead manager in the issuance of the securities which would be backed by LG Card's receivables. Ahn Sung-eun, managing director of Merrill Lynch's Seoul branch office, told Moneytoday, an Inter-net financial news provider, that the firm would buy all the issue. "The reason that Merrill Lynch Securities is investing US$400 million
in LG Card ... is because Merrill Lynch trusts the [South] Korean economy."
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a