■ Engineering
Siemens to cut 2,400 jobs
Siemens AG, Germany's largest engineering company, will eliminate 2,400 jobs and replace the head of its computer-services division as losses at the unit mount. The cuts at the unit, called Siemens Business Services, will help save 1.5 billion euros (US$1.8 billion) in two years, the Munich-based company said in an e-mailed release yesterday. Adrian von Hammerstein, who headed the SBS division, will leave, making him the second division head after Lothar Pauly to be replaced this month. Chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld is under pressure from investors dissatisfied with a share price that has lagged behind Germany's DAX benchmark index since he took over in January.
■ Japan
Supermarket pioneer dies
Isao Nakauchi, who founded supermarket chain Daiei and revolutionized Japan's retail industry, died yesterday of a stroke, a university where he worked said. He was 83. Daiei Inc, based in the western port city of Kobe, was founded in 1957 by Nakauchi, a charismatic businessman who was praised for bringing US large-scale discount retail methods to a nation long dominated by mom-and-pop stores. Daiei grew to become the biggest Japanese retailer during the 1970s. But as imitators sprang up, Daiei fell into financial trouble and has struggled under the burden of huge debts amassed during years of over-expansion in the 1980s. It was taken over by a government-backed rehabilitation organization earlier this year.
■ Cellphones
China Mobile eyes India
China Mobile (Hong Kong) Ltd (中國移動) has offered to buy Reliance Telecom Ltd, an Indian cellular phone company, the Economic Times reported, citing industry people it didn't identify. Li Yue (李躍), executive director and vice president of China Mobile, met last week with senior officials of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises, which controls Reliance Telecom, the newspaper said. Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises officials declined to comment on the report. China Mobile's Hong Kong-based spokeswoman, Doris Fung, said she wasn't aware of the report and also declined to comment. Overseas mobile-phone service providers such as AFK Sistema and China Mobile are trying to gain a foothold in India by buying stakes in Indian companies. The country's cellphone users are estimated to increase almost five times to 300 million by the end of 2009, according to researcher Gartner Inc.
■ Trade
Liberalize services, EU asks
The EU called on the US and other nations to improve their offers to liberalize their services sectors and make meaningful cutbacks in farm subsidies if negotiations on a new world trade accord are to succeed at the end of this year. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said if a global trade deal is to be sealed in Hong Kong in December there must be "a strong component of agricultural liberalization." He added that the EU is through making unilateral steps to that end. EU governments, on whose behalf Mandelson is negotiating in the World Trade Organization talks, "will simply not accept further first moves from the EU which are pocketed without parallel moves by others." Mandelson said he was even more worried about the state of negotiations aimed at liberalizing services worldwide.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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