■ Television
EU OKs Philips, TPV sale
The EU's executive commission said yesterday it had cleared the acquisition of parts of the computer monitor and flat-screen television business of Dutch group Philips by Hong Kong-based firm TPV Technology (冠捷科技). The companies agreed in December to combine their personal computer (PC) monitor and flat-screen television businesses. TPV will take over the original equipment manufacturer monitor business of Philips as well as production of some low-end flat screen products. Philips will in return get a 30 percent stake in TPV. Although the combined group would become the world's largest maker of PC monitors, the commission said it would continue to face strong competition from Samsung, LGE or BenQ.
■ Singapore
Unemployment rate grows
Singapore's unemployment rate in the three months to June crept up slightly to 3.4 percent from a revised 3.3 percent in the previous quarter as fresh graduates joined the search for jobs, preliminary estimates released yesterday showed. The manpower ministry said in its preliminary report that 27,700 jobs were created in the June quarter, an improvement from 17,800 in the previous three months and 10,900 for the same period last year. "All the major sectors saw higher employment growth compared with the preceding quarter and the same quarter in 2004," the ministry said. The manufacturing sector, a major pillar of the economy, generated 8,900 new jobs while the services sector created 15,200.
■ Malaysia
Auto industry to get boost
A highly anticipated new tax and tariff structure for Malaysia's troubled auto industry may be announced as early as this week, a report said yesterday. The government is expected to address several issues affecting the motor industry, including discrepancies arising from the changes in tax structure announced early this year, which have put local assemblers at a disadvantage compared with those in other regional countries, it said. Taxes for locally assembled and fully imported cars may be reduced, it said, but quoted a source familiar with the policy as saying that the government wants to ensure car prices remain unchanged and that no new taxes are expected. Malaysia had previously promised to cut tariffs on cars made by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to 20 percent this year and to five percent by 2008.
■ Australia
No rate rise: central bank
Australia's central bank indicated yesterday it will keep interest rates on hold at 5.5 percent through this year because of "evenly balanced" inflation. In its quarterly monetary policy statement, the Reserve Bank of Australia was upbeat about Australia's economy and the inflationary outlook while removing its previous reference to interest rates likely rising. The bank said the risk of inflation had subsided from previous quarters, easing the upward pressure on rates. Core inflation, which is currently 2.5 percent, should peak near 3 percent in the second half of next year and that rise should be limited, it said. The bank adjusts its benchmark interest rate to keep inflation within a range between 2 percent and 3 percent.
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
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