■ Commodities
China to auction copper
China will auction another 20,000 tonnes of copper in Beijing next week to ease supply conditions, the country's top economic body, said yesterday. The State Reserve Bureau (SRB) has already taken a total of 60,000 tonnes of copper from the country's strategic reserves for sales on Nov. 16, Nov. 23 and Nov. 30. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the fourth auction would be held on Wednesday. The SRB failed to sell all of the copper at the last two auctions but traders said this was because the floor prices set were too high and the quality of the copper was deemed unsatisfactory. The SRB auctions come amid continued speculation that a Chinese copper trader who worked for the SRB is sitting on the wrong side of bets on the price.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Merck unit to cut jobs
The Japanese unit of US drug maker Merck & Co will trim 8 percent of its work force and shut one plant and two laboratories under a three-year reorganization that was announced by the parent overnight, a company official said yesterday. Kazuko Kamiya, spokeswoman for Banyu Pharmaceutical Co, Merck's Japanese subsidiary, said a plant in Okazaki which makes the antibiotic Tienam, will be shut down by December next year, and two laboratories, in Okazaki and Menuma, will be shut down by March. The firm will cut 300 jobs in Japan over the next year, or 8 percent of the 3,800 workers now in Japan. Banyu declined to break down which facilities would be affected by the cuts. The company's remaining facilities in Japan include a plant in Menuma and a laboratory in Tsukuba, as well as 15 regional sales offices and its Tokyo headquarters, spokesman Tetsuro Kobayashi said.
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
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft