■ 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.
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
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
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