■ Trade Policy
Trade zone mooted
State-run economic thinktanks of South Korea and China agreed yesterday to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a free trade zone between the two Asian economies. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and the Development Research Center, run by China's state council, signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing to launch the study until next year, to push for a free trade pact, KIEP said in a statement. Trade between China and South Korea, Asia's second and third largest economies, stood at US$79.4 billion last year, according to Seoul's foreign ministry data. China is South Korea's biggest trade partner. Seoul has also pushed for separate free trade deals with Asia's biggest economy Japan and Singapore.
■ Trade Policy
India, MERCOSUR cut tariffs
India and South America's MERCOSUR trading bloc signed a deal Saturday slashing tariffs on more than 900 products to boost trade between the two sides, the government said. Under the agreement, which comes into effect immediately, India will give tariff preference to 450 products and MERCOSUR nations will give tariff concessions on 452 items, an Indian government statement said. The concessions will range from 10 percent to 100 percent, the statement said. Mercosur comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bolivia and Chile are associate members. Trade between India and MERCOSUR reached US$1.5 billion last year. India mainly exported drugs, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, transport equipment, cotton, readymade garments, dyes and coal tar to MERCOSUR, while it mainly imported edible oils, ferrous ores, metal scrap and non-electrical machinery from the trading bloc.
■ Television
Fuji may sell new shares
Fuji Television Network Inc, Japan's biggest broadcaster, may sell new shares to designated investors to fend off a possible takeover attempt by Internet portal Livedoor Co, the Mainichi newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Fuji TV, which is competing with Livedoor for the control of Nippon Broadcasting System Inc, may sell about ?100 billion (US$955 million) worth of new shares, the report said. Nippon Broadcasting is the biggest shareholder in Fuji TV, with a 22.5 percent stake. Livedoor is likely to buy more Fuji shares if the Tokyo High Court upholds a lower court's injection against Nippon Broadcasting's planned sale of stock options to Fuji TV, the newspaper said.
■ Korean Economy
Small firms to get loans
Korea Development Bank, the nation's largest state-owned lender to companies, said it will offer 5 trillion won (US$5 billion) in loans this year to smaller companies. The Seoul-based lender plans to boost new lending to smaller companies by 20 percent from last year, which will bring up outstanding loans to these customers to 15.5 trillion won at the end of this year, Korea Development said today in an e-mailed statement. State banks are extending loans to smaller companies to help them weather the impact of the sluggish domestic consumption and the won's rapid appreciation at a time when Kookmin Bank and other commercial lenders have capped or tightened loans to them to cap default risks.
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