■ CHINESE ECONOMY
Investment set to rise
China's overall fixed-asset investment, a key driver of economic growth, is expected to grow 25.3 percent this year, state press said yesterday, citing government projections. Urban fixed-asset investment is predicted to rise 27 percent for this year, the State Information Center said in a report published in the China Securities Journal. Fixed-asset investment in the first nine months of the year increased by 26.1 percent over the same period last year, with such spending, mainly by the government on infrastructure and other projects, accounting for just under half of China's total economic output. The government think-tank expects overall fixed-asset investment to total 8.78 trillion yuan (US$1.08 trillion) this year, with urban fixed-asset investment to reach 7.45 trillion yuan, the newspaper said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
■ LABORabor
France mulls reforms
France could lift restrictions on service industries and business start-ups to create jobs in the riot-hit suburbs, Finance Minister Thierry Breton said in a newspaper interview published yesterday. He told Britain's Financial Times business daily that although the package of measures would be limited to "zone franche" special areas, the plans could be a proving ground for wider reform of the rigid French labor market. He also admitted that France had not done enough for its immigrants. Violence was continuing in French suburbs early yesterday with more cars ablaze in the troubled Paris suburbs. Breton said he would present Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin with a batch of fresh ideas once the violence ebbs.
■ JAPAN
Growth outpaces forecasts
The Japanese economy grew more than expected in the third quarter, expanding at an annualized pace of 1.7 percent, the government said yesterday. The rate of growth in the GDP from July to September was higher than the average forecast of 1.1 percent, prompting stocks and the yen to rise. However, it was substantially slower than the previous two quarters: a 3.3-percent annualized rate in the second quarter and 6.3 percent in the first. Domestic demand was the driving force behind the reading for the latest quarter. Personal spending, which makes up about 55 percent of Japan's GDP, climbed a real 0.3 percent, encouraged by increased buying of flat-display televisions, commissions on financial services and visits to the World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture, which closed at the end of September.
■ AUTOMOBILES
US giant finishes MMC sale
German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler said yesterday it had agreed to sell its remaining 12.4-percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC), effectively completing its gradual withdrawal from the Japanese firm's share capital, according to a company statement. The exact price and the impact on earnings "will be published after closing, which will take place by the end of November the latest," the statement said. But the deal was expected to boost DaimlerChrysler's financial income this year by around 500 million euros (US$585 million). Current cooperation between the two groups "will not be affected by the disposal, and will continue as previously agreed. In addition, DaimlerChrysler and MMC plan to renew and extend current projects which are mutually beneficial," DaimlerChrysler insisted.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2