■ Electronics
IBM to repatriate billions
IBM Corp, the world's biggest computer company, may repatriate as much as US$8 billion in foreign earnings, taking advantage of a US law that gives companies a year to bring back profits earned in other countries at a lower tax rate. IBM also reduced its revenue and costs for last year by US$260 million after discovering some employees in Japan booked sales improperly, the Armonk, New York-based company said today in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. IBM will use the cash for research, acquisitions or give it back to shareholders, Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge told analysts last month. IBM said it may pay as much as US$550 million in income tax expenses. Some employees in Japan "acted improperly and inconsistently" in sales of third-party hardware, the company also said.
■ Internet
EU probes iTunes prices
Apple Computer Inc is under investigation by the European Commission for charging more in the UK for iTunes than it does in France or Germany, a spokesman for the EU executive said on Thursday. "There is indeed an investigation on our own initiative," the spokesman said. "We have made informal requests to Apple just to gather information. It is at the early stages" The investigation was sparked in September by Which?, the UK consumers association, which found that iPod fanciers in France and Germany pay 0.99 euro (US$1.31) for each iTune they download but Britons must pay ?0.79 (US$1.51). Which? complained to the UK's Office of Fair Trading that Britons are barred from the Continental sites. The British competition agency in turn informally referred the case to the EU executive commission in December.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Sankyo to acquire Daiichi
Sankyo Co announced it will buy Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co in a ?813.4 billion (US$7.7 billion) transaction, strengthening Sankyo's position as Japan's second-largest drugmaker in the ?7 trillion domestic market. Sankyo will pay 1.159 shares for each Daiichi share, the companies said yesterday in a joint statement. Sankyo President Takashi Shoda will head the combined company, which will form in October as Daiichi Sankyo Co. The acquisition's value is based on Sankyo's ?2,450 closing share price yesterday. Japanese pharmaceutical companies are combining and expanding overseas to counter government-mandated price cuts and increased competition at home. Japan is the world's second-largest drug market.
■ Utilities
Kyushu shares jump
Kyushu Electric Power Co surged as much as 7.2 percent, the biggest fluctuation of any stock trading yesterday on the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index, after the company raised its full-year dividend forecast. The percentage gain in Kyushu Electric, Japan's No. 5 power producer, was the biggest since Jan. 24, 1995. The stock advanced as much as ?150 to 2,245, and closed at ?2,210 at the 11am lunch break on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock is set to close at its highest since Oct. 31, 2001. Kyushu Electric plans to pay a full-year dividend of ?60 a share, up from ?50, the company said after the market closed yesterday. A warmer-than-usual summer and a rise in industrial output lifted earnings at Japanese utilities.
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