■ Banking
Chinese listings in doubt
Plans for the Bank of China and China Construction Bank, two of the country's four largest lenders, to list on markets overseas were thrown into doubt, a press report said yesterday. The two banks, beset by corruption scandals, accounting issues and weak corporate governance, looked increasingly unlikely to attempt to list on international markets this year, the Standard newspaper reported, citing sources close to the banks. The two banks were not yet in a position to launch their Initial Public Offerings (IPO) as they need to resolve a host of outstanding issues, such as existing bad debt and new soured loans which were expected to surface, the report said. Meanwhile, BOC executive assistant president Zhu Min, who is at the center of the bank's restructuring plans, told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland over the weekend, that the bank needed "to clean house" first before any overseas listing.
■ Printing
Kodak in talks to buy Creo
The Eastman Kodak Co is in talks to acquire Creo Inc, a Canadian printing technology company, for about US$1 billion, executives close to the negotiations said over the weekend. Exact terms of the proposed deal could not be learned. The executives cautioned that it was still possible the talks could fall apart. Creo is under attack from dissident shareholders who are seeking to oust its management. The deal would be the latest in a string of acquisitions by Kodak, which is based in Rochester, New York. Two years ago, Kodak set aside US$3 billion for purchases, and US$1 billion remains. Creo's board is being advised by Merrill Lynch over the possible sale of part or all of the company. Other companies that have been cited as possible bidders include Fuji Photo Film, Agfa-Gevaert, Hewlett-Packard and Electronics for Imaging Inc.
■ Economics
Malaysia to fund SMEs
Malaysia will set up a development bank to assist small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) this year, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday. "The banks at present are focusing their attention on loan applications from big industries and the SMEs are having a problem getting capital," Abdullah said. "The SMEs require greater attention in the form of capital and loans and the setting up of an SME bank will give them the opportunity for growth," he said. Abdullah gave no further details, saying these would be worked out by the Treasury.
■ Biomedicine
Singapore's plan pays off
Singapore's strategy to develop a regional biomedical hub is paying dividends with the industry growing 33 percent last year and worth more than S$15 billion (US$9.2 billion), the government said yesterday. Output by the biomedical sciences industry was worth S$15.8 billion last year with the fast-growing pharmaceuticals sector making up 88 percent of the market, the Economic Development Board said. The yearly output far exceeded the government's target set in 2000 for the industry to be worth some S$12 billion dollars by the end of this year. The board said close to 15 international companies had established research and development facilities at Singapore's Biopolis center.
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
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
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