■ Cameras
Sony boosts digital output
Sony Corp, the world's second-biggest consumer electronics maker, expects to increase digital-camera production next fiscal year by at least 20 percent to 30 percent to try to meet demand, a spokeswoman said. The company expects digital-camera shipments to match or exceed industry growth, said spokeswoman Aki Shimazu, confirming an earlier report by Dow Jones. It plans to produce and ship 15 million units in the year ending next March 31 up 50 percent from last fiscal year's 10 million units. A 20 percent to 30 percent increase in production would allow the company to ship 18 million to 19.5 million units in the year ending March 2006.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Firm stops drug defense
British drug maker Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) said yesterday that it has abandoned its defense of the Chinese patent for a component of its popular diabetes drug Avandia following a chal-lenge by three Chinese competitors. The announce-ment came six weeks after US-based Pfizer Inc was stripped of a Chinese patent for its anti-impotence drug Viagra in a case that foreign businesses regarded as a test of China's commitment to protecting GSK's Chinese subsidiary announced its decision following a hearing yester-day morning at which China's State Intellectual Property Office declared that that company had waived its claim to a patent on rosiglitazone last week. The company didn't give a reason for the move. Lilian Xiao, a spokeswoman for GSK China Investment Co Ltd, said GSK's decision won't let Chinese compe-titors sell copies of Avandia, because the company still holds two other Chinese patents covering the drug.
■ Investment
Temasek diversifing
The Singapore government's investment arm plans to diversify its investment portfolio by shifting much of its focus from the city-state to the rest of Asia and to developed economies worldwide, the media reported yesterday. The cash-rich Temasek Holdings has this year bought stakes in South Korean, Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian corporations, particularly banks and telecom com-panies. "Temasek is shifting its investment stance from a Singapore-centric portfolio to a balanced global port-folio of one-third Singapore, one-third Asia outside of Japan and one-third developed economies, including Japan," its executive director Ho Ching was quoted as saying by The Straits Times. Temasek made an unexpected S$2.82 billion(US$1.6 billion) cash bid last week for the world's seventh-largest shipping group, Neptune Orient Lines.
■ Aviation
Air France ups surcharge
Air France said yesterday that it was increasing its fuel surcharge by 12 euros (US$14.82) on long-haul flights from Monday until there is a month-long dip in oil prices. The airline, which introduced a three-euro surcharge on all flights in May, said it would also increase the surcharge on medium-haul journeys by three euros, that on domestic flights by two euros and that to France's overseas territories by 10 euros. The new surcharge increases will remain in place until the price of a barrel of oil remains below US$35 for a consecutive 30-day period, the airline said. Its KLM unit said separately it would increase the fuel surcharge by an average of three euros per ticket for all fares from Sept. 1.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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