■ 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.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS