■ Internet Music
Tesco to offer downloads
Tesco Plc, the UK's biggest retailer, will compete with Apple Computer Inc's iTunes and Napster Inc by offering digital music downloads on its Web site, the London-based Times reported, without saying where it got the information. Tesco's music service will be supported by Woolworths Group Plc's Entertainment UK music wholesale unit, which supplies the retailer with CDs and DVDs, the newspaper said. Tesco's Web site's download service will run on Microsoft Corp's Windows Media Audio format, preventing owners of Apple's iPod digital music player from being able to make use of tracks on it, the Times said. Tesco will offer over 500,000 music tracks at a charge of &$163;0.79 (US$1.46) for a single track, the newspaper said.
■ Software
Infosys to convert shares
India's second largest software exporter, Infosys Technologies Ltd, plans to increase the availability of its shares on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange by draining the Indian stock markets of 16 million shares, or nearly 6 percent, of its stock. The company said yesterday it will let its Indian shareholders sell their stock to US investors, convert such shares into a form tradable on Nasdaq and cancel their listing on India's stock exchanges. "All equity shareholders in India ... would be eligible to tender their equity shares in the offering," the company said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Infosys said it will seek the approval of its shareholders for the conversion on Dec. 18. The price and timing of the sale is to be determined later. Infosys, which employs 33,000 people, expects revenues in the year ending in March to exceed US$1.55 billion. The company derives about 65 percent of its revenues from the US.
■ Outsourcing
GE sells stake
US manufacturing and energy giant General Electric Co will sell 60 percent of its global outsourcing business for US$500 million to two US investment companies, GE officials announced yesterday. Pramod Bhasin, chief executive officer of GE Capital International Services, said in a statement that the stakes would be sold to equity investors, General Atlantic Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners, in a deal reached over the weekend. "This transaction allows us to offer our quality business process services to an expanding roster of leading companies worldwide," Bhasin said. Until now, 95 percent of the back-office business in GE Capital International Services was from General Electric.
■ Auto industry
Honda invests in China
Japanese automaker Honda said yesterday it would spend US$340 million to quadruple capacity at its joint plant with Dongfeng Motor in Wuhan, China, to 120,000 units by 2006. The company said construction will begin this year to triple the size of plant buildings and improve on its current annual capacity of 30,000 units. "Looking at the long-term needs of the Chinese auto market, this was deemed to be a necessary investment," said Honda Motor Co spokesman Yuji Hatano. Dongfeng Honda Automobile (Wuhan) Co is a 50-50 joint venture between Honda and Dongfeng Motor Industry Investment Corp. The Wuhan plant will boost the number of workers to 2,800 from 930 by 2006 and will begin making the Civic sedan on top of its current output of the CR-V sport utility, Honda said.
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
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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