■ Electronics
Infineon to close plant
Semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies AG said yesterday it has agreed with a labor union to close an outdated memory-chip plant in southern Germany in 2007. Infineon said it struck the deal with the IG Metall union on the fate of its Perlach plant near Munich during overnight talks. The company said it had increased its compensation package for affected staff after IG Metall, which had threatened to call strikes, had stopped asking for the closure to be delayed and reduced demands for retraining. It didn't give details of the agreement, which still needs approval in a workers' vote. The company has said it plans to shift jobs from the 20-year-old plant, which employs about 800 people, to other factories to cut costs and because its equipment is not able to produce the new generation of chips.
■ Software
Microsoft to hire in Asia
US software giant Microsoft Corp plans to add 1,200 employees to its Asia-Pacific workforce over two years and make an aggressive push into the small and medium-sized enterprise market, the software giant's new regional head said in report published yesterday. "We're bullish about Asia and are excited to see Asian economies rise back to rapid growth," Eduardo Rosino told Singapore's Business Times. The world's largest software company currently has 6,000 employees in the region and operates its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Singapore. "The PC [personal-computer] markets in India and Southeast Asia are growing very fast," Rosini, 38, was quoted as saying.
■ Electronics
Hitachi announces losses
Japanese electronics giant Hitachi said yesterday that it plunged into the red in the first half of its financial year and cut its full-year forecast, hit by a slump in sales of digital products. Hitachi incurred a net loss of ¥10.95 billion (US$94 million) for the six months to September, compared with a profit of ¥41.16 billion a year earlier. Pretax profit dropped 68.8 percent year-on-year to 21.2 billion yen on sales which grew 1.9 percent to ¥4.4 trillion. "The Electronic Devices segment saw revenues decrease as sales of LCDs [liquid crystal displays] declined due to stiffer competition," Hitachi said in a statement. "The digital media and consumer products segment recorded lower revenues due to falling prices," it said. Monitoring the dismal results for the first half, Hitachi downgraded its net profit forecast for the full year to March next year to ¥20 billion from its earlier estimate of ¥55 billion.
■ Consumer prices
London most expensive
London is the most expensive major European city, with the French capital Paris coming in second, according to the results of a new study published here yesterday. A standard basket of 250 goods and services bought in London cost 5.3 percent more than the average throughout the 12 countries which use the common euro currency, according to the Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein report. Paris came second, 1.3 percent above the eurozone average, followed by Frankfurt (+0.8 percent) and Brussels (-0.4 percent), according to the results which were published in yesterday's Financial Times daily. Madrid, which came in at 2.5 percent cheaper than the eurozone average, was pronounced the cheapest major European city.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
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
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
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