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Thailand cuts store hours
PHOTO: EPA
The Thai government has announced drastic steps to reduce energy consumption in the face of rising oil prices, including early closures of department stores and hypermarts nationwide, officials con-firmed yesterday. As of next week department stores will be required to close at 8pm, instead of 10pm, while hypermarkets such as Carrefour, Tesco-Lotus and Makro will close at 10pm instead of 12am or 2am at present. The shorter hours sparked immediate oppo-sition from operators, who claim the policy runs counter to the government's aim of turning Bangkok into a shoppers' paradise for the region. Thailand is also mulling imposing tolls on inner-city traffic and imposing car pooling, to reduce oil consumption.
■ Forex
Offshore debt markets OK
China will allow domestic insurers to invest forex in offshore debt markets, a step that could pave the way for loosening of the coun-try's tightly controlled capital account, state press reported yesterday. The provisional rules will allow Chinese insurance com-panies to invest up to 80 percent of their total foreign currency holdings in off-shore markets, the Xinhua news agency reported. "It will help insurance com-panies broaden their invest-ment scope, improve invest-ment returns and better diversify investments," Xinhua cited the China Insurance Regulatory Commission as saying. The policy change grants com-panies the right to invest in overseas government and corporate debt, certificates of deposit and other fixed income products, the report said.
■ Steel
Posco, Billiton look at India
South Korean steel maker Posco and Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton have plans to jointly build a steel plant in eastern India, a state official said yester-day. The two companies want to set up the 10 million tonne steel facility in the coastal state of Orissa, investing up to 390 billion rupees (US$8.5 billion), an officer at the state's invest-ment agency said. The project would be India's biggest steel plant. Posco and Billiton officials met Orissa's Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday, said the officer who did not want to be named. Patnaik has asked his aides to evaluate the proposal.
■ Bond Markets
Citigroup trades scrutinized
Britain's Financial Services Authority said on Wednes-day it had launched a formal investigation into unusual trading activity initiated by Citigroup in European government bond and bond derivative markets. The agency said that the probe into the Aug. 2 trades might lead to formal disciplinary proceedings though no decision could be taken until the facts were clear. Last week the Financial Times reported that trading in eurozone government bonds had been restricted after an "unprecedented wave" of selling orders by Citigroup caused panic on markets. Italy-based elec-tronic trading platform MTS took the decision to limit liquidity after Citigroup sold 11 billion euros (US$13.5 billion) in eurozone bonds, buying back 4 billion euros' worth an hour and a half later at cheaper prices.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique