■ Accommodation
Manila has cheapest hotels
Hotels in Manila are the cheapest among 10 Asian countries, followed by Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, a consulting firm reported yesterday. This year's average daily room rates in the Philippine capital are between US$70 to US$75. Singapore's hotels average US$76 and Kuala Lumpur's US$75 to US$80, according to consulting firm Horwath Asia Pacific. Bangkok's hotel rooms average US$110 to US$115 a night. Tops on the list is Tokyo, with rates between US$190 to US$195, followed by Shanghai, at US$170 to US$175, the firm's data showed. With the entry of budget airlines and the economies of Japan, China and India humming along, hotel chiefs predict room rates will rise this year.
■ Investment
Securities firm discussed
A major Japanese banking group and Merrill Lynch & Co are in talks about setting up a securities company together that would target rich people, a news report said yesterday. Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc denied that a decision had been made, while acknowledging that informal talks were in progress. Merrill Lynch refused to comment. The companies are considering combining the US firm's expertise in such business and Mitsubishi Tokyo's strong customer base, which would allow Merrill Lynch to gain a bigger foothold in the Japanese market, the leading business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. Mitsubishi Tokyo is merging with another Japanese "Big Four" bank, UFJ Holdings Inc, by October, forming the world's biggest bank in assets.
■ Airlines
Passenger traffic rebounds
The number of international passengers traveling on the Asia-Pacific region's major airlines rose 22.5 percent last year from the previous year to 117 million, an aviation group said yesterday, signaling the industry's recovery from 2003's SARS crisis. "The unexpectedly strong rebound in passenger traffic in 2004 was a welcome relief," the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines said. It "has generally resulted in higher revenues and better profitability, despite markedly higher fuel costs. The challenges of continuing high fuel prices and keen competition will remain important factors affecting profitability,'' the group said in a statement.
■ Advertising
Asia-Pacific splashes out
A record US$62 billion was spent on advertising in the Asia-Pacific region last year fuelled by a rise in economic and consumer confidence, a research agency's report said on Thursday. The outlook for this year remains positive, said Nielsen Media Research, although the impact of the Dec. 26 tsunamis made predictions uncertain. China showed the biggest increase out of the 12 countries surveyed in 2004. Its US$31.6 billion in ad spending represented a 32 percent jump from 2003. Hong Kong and South Korea were also big spenders, with each accounting for 7 percent. Australia accounted for 6 percent, India and Indonesia 4 percent each, Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand 3 percent each. Singapore contributed 2 percent to the region's ad spending along with Malaysia. Television remained the dominant choice for advertisers, capturing 66 percent of the pie between the three core media: newspapers, magazines and TV.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)