■ Automobiles
China sales may rise 12%
China's vehicle sales may rise by 12 percent to 5.75 million units in 2005 from a year ago, the Ministry of Commerce said in a report posted on its Web site. Total production of Volkswagen AG, General Motors Corp and other automakers in China may rise by about 15 percent this year to 5.83 million units, according to the report by the nation's trade regulator. Vehicle demand in China, the world's third largest automobile market, started to recover from March as customers concluded prices had bottomed out. First-half vehicle sales rose 9.4 percent to 2.79 million units and output increased 5.2 percent to 2.82 million units during the period, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
■ Scandal
Chinese executives arrested
The chief executive of China's largest refrigerator maker Kelon and two fellow executives have been arrested as securities regulators investigate the firm, Hong Kong and Chinese media reported yesterday. The company, Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co (科龍集團), is also being run by local government authorities and its board has been dissolved, according to reports. Kelon Chairman Gu Chujun (顧雛軍), Deputy Chief Executive Yan Yousong (嚴友松) and Assistant to the Chief Executive Jiang Yuan (姜源) are being held, Chinese news Web site Sina.com reported. Gu is suspected of misusing Kelon's funds in the acquisition of other companies, Wen Wei Po said. The paper also reported local authorities have taken custody of Kelon, based in the southern Chinese city of Shunde.
■ Computers
Intel opens R&D centers
Intel Corp, whose microprocessors run more than 80 percent of personal computers, is opening research centers in Brazil, China, Egypt and India to identify products that will increase sales in the fastest-growing markets. Intel designers, ethnographers and engineers will work at the centers, said Willy Agatstein, general manager of the Channel Definition and Development Group. Their job will be to find new ways that Intel products can be used in local markets and to provide input for the design of future products. The move is part of Chief Executive Paul Otellini's plan to create and exploit new markets for personal computers as sales in the US and Western Europe slow and the company fights to maintain double-digit revenue growth. Computers that can withstand the heat, dust and power outages of rural India represent one such opportunity, Agatstein said.
■ Telecoms
Nokia maintains lead
Nokia maintained its robust lead in the world mobile phone market in the second quarter as sales of entry-level units boosted overall shipment numbers, a technology research house said yesterday. IDC said global shipments of mobile phones totalled 188.7 million units in the three months to June, up 16.3 percent from a year ago and 7.3 percent from the previous quarter. Nokia, based in Finland, accounted for 60.8 million units or 32.2 percent of all shipments in the second quarter, nearly double the market share of its American rival Motorola, with 33.9 million units or 18 percent. Next came South Korean manufacturers Samsung, with 24.4 million units or 12.9 percent, and LG electronics, with 12.1 million or 6.4 percent. Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan's Sony and Sweden's Ericsson, was fifth with 11.8 million units or 6.3 percent.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from