■ Japan
No new DVD standard yet
Japanese electronics giants admitted yesterday that they have not been able to reach a common standard for next-generation DVDs and are going ahead with the production of their own incompatible formats. The failure to make a breakthrough after a series of talks means consumers will be forced to choose between DVDs which cannot be swapped between different players, as was the case for VHS and Betamax video formats. Toshiba Corp said it was still in talks with Sony to find a common format but in the absence of an agreement it was going ahead with the production of its HD DVD products. A Sony spokesman expressed confidence, though, that Sony's Blu-ray disc format would become the "single standard."
■ South Korea
Sovereign sells off LG stake
Sovereign Asset Management said yesterday it had sold off its entire stake in LG Corp and LG Electronics, the two key units of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate LG Group. The move ended the Dubai-based investment fund's two-year presence in South Korea, sometimes locked in a legal battle with local firms. "Sovereign sold off all of its holdings in LG Corp and LG Electronics overnight," said Carol Park, spokesperson for Sovereign's public relations agency Access Communication. Sovereign had retained a 7.0 percent stake in LG Corp and a 7.2 percent stake in LG Electronics, Park said, noting that further details about the deal were not provided. Sovereign said last month it had sold off its controversial entire 14.8 percent stake in SK Corp, the country's largest oil refiner, after a two-year dispute with SK Corp management over governance issues.
■ Semiconductors
Factory use rises 88.8%
Global semiconductor companies raised their factory use for the first time in a year in the second quarter as demand increased for personal computers, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, according to industry figures. Factory use rose to 88.8 percent in the three months ended June 30, from 84.8 percent in the previous three-month period, according to Netherlands-based Semiconductor International Capacity Statistics. Chipmakers such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturers, are upgrading equipment and increasing production to meet expected demand ahead of the school year and Christmas shopping period.
■ Marketing
Survey reveals top brands
Asian consumers prefer regional brands such as Japan's Sony against internationally famous names, a survey said yesterday. Asian names filled nearly half of the top 20 slots in Media magazine's "Top 1,000 Brands in Asia," jostling with the likes of Nestle, Mercedes-Benz and McDonald's. Japan's Sony emerged as the favorite. Nokia and Panasonic rounded out the top three. Market-research company Synovate conducted the survey, which revealed that Japanese and South Korean brands are seen as market leaders in the region. The survey of 4,250 consumers in eight Asian markets placed Nestle, Coca-Cola and Kodak in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively. Toyota was the top Asian car brand in ninth place, behind eighth-ranked Mercedes Benz.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique