■ Semiconductors
Philips eyes Korean plant
Royal Philips Electronics NV, Europe's largest maker of consumer electronics, may build a semiconductor chip plant in South Korea, Minister of Information and Communication Chin Dae-je said yesterday. Philips may be "the anchor tenant on a chip cluster" that the government is trying to set up in Songdo, west of Seoul, Chin said. The plant will produce radial frequency identification (RFID) chips, which are used in tagging products in retail stores to transmitting personal information on luggage tags, he said. Talks are at a preliminary stage, he said.
■ Telcoms
Toshiba drops China phones
Toshiba Corp announced yesterday that it had withdrawn from the mobile phone business in China. "We have already sold our 33 percent stake in the joint venture mobile phone business in China early this year," a Toshiba spokesman said. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun daily said, without citing sources, that Toshiba had sold its stake in the joint venture -- set up in 2000 to produce mobile phones -- to Nanjing Postel Telecommunications for an undisclosed sum. Toshiba had targeted the market for high-end products and had released some models, including a video e-mail phone for 6,000 yuan (US$722), the spokesman said. "But the pace of expansion in the market for high-end products was below our expectations," he said. "We eventually decided to focus our resources on the European market where we can expect [higher] growth potential."
■ Energy
Rolls Royce invests in cells
British engine-maker Rolls Royce Group PLC signed an agreement yesterday with a Singapore consortium to invest US$100 million to develop a commercially viable power system based on fuel cell technology. Rolls Royce will provide 75 percent of the investment while the consortium, comprising the Economic Development Board, Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd. and Accuron Technologies, will invest the remaining quarter. "Temasek sees strong commercial potential in the solid oxide fuel cell being developed by RRFCS" or Rolls Royce Fuel Cell Systems, said Pan Suan Swee, Temasek's managing director for strategic development.
■ Food
Sudan I found in China
China said yesterday that it has found 88 food products and ingredients nationwide that contain the cancer-causing dye Sudan I, although its health ministry said it is unlikely to pose immediate health risk. The food products containing the dye were mainly chilli-flavored food additives, chilli oils and sauces, preserved vegetables and instant noodles, according to a list posted on the Web site of the State Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The products were made by 30 companies mostly located in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces and Shanghai.
■ Automobiles
Ford to cut 1,000 jobs
Ford Motor Co will try to eliminate about 1,000 salaried jobs by this summer as part of a voluntary buyout program, the company said on Tuesday. Spokeswoman Marcey Evans said the buyouts will be offered to employees who are eligible to retire as well as some employees who aren't yet eligible. She said eligible employees will be notified by the end of this month and those who take the offer will leave by June 30.
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