■ Telecoms
NTT profits plummet
Japanese telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) said yesterday its profit fell by almost one-third in the nine months to December as revenue slackened amid intense competition. Group net profit for the period dropped 31.6 percent from a year earlier to ¥477.77 billion (US$4.0 billion), with pretax profit falling 31.1 percent to ¥1.13 trillion. Revenue slipped 0.9 percent to ¥7.92 trillion. In fixed-line phone services revenue dropped 6.1 percent to ¥164.8 billion due to price cuts while income from mobile phone services shrank 2.3 percent to ¥56.6 billion owing to discount packages, it said. Revenue was also hit by reduced sales of mobile handsets. NTT left its net-profit forecast for the full year to March unchanged at ¥525 billion and pretax profit of ¥1.26 trillion on sales of ¥10.71 trillion.
■ Airline industry
US, EU certify Worldliner
US and European authorities have certified the Boeing Co's longest-range jetliner to begin flying airline passengers worldwide, the company said on Thursday. The announcement came after the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency formally recognized that the 777-200LR successfully completed testing and safety requirements during its six-month flight-test program. The Worldliner, as Boeing calls its latest 777, broke the world record last November for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial jet. It flew 21,596km from Hong Kong to London, a flight that took 22 hours and 43 minutes. The twin-aisle jet is designed to carry 301 passengers up to 17,441km. Boeing has received 36 orders for the 777-200LR from five airlines, including Taiwanese carrier EVA Airways (長榮航空), Emirates Airlines, Air Canada and Air India.
■ Investment
Icahn eyes KT&G Corp
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is seeking to put directors on the board at KT&G Corp, South Korea's biggest tobacco company, to influence management after teaming up with Warren Lichtenstein, who pioneered hostile takeover bids in Japan. Funds controlled by Icahn and Lichtenstein hold 6.6 percent of Seoul-based KT&G, Icahn Partners Master Fund LP said in a filing to regulators yesterday. Lichtenstein's Steel Partners LP will nominate directors at KT&G's annual shareholder meeting with support from Icahn's funds, the filing said. Icahn, who raised US$1.6 billion for two hedge funds last year to pursue "activist" investing, has been pressing KT&G to sell assets to raise the firm's share price.
■ Airline industry
UAL shares drop 10 percent
Shares of United Airlines parent UAL Corp fell 10 percent on their first day of trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market, after some analysts said the stock price was higher than the company's prospects justified. The new shares began trading yesterday under the symbol UAUA after the company emerged from more than three years of bankruptcy on Thursday. They fell US$4.11 to US$35.89 at 4:30pm. The price had risen as high as US$43.75 in trading since Jan. 26 on a "when issued" basis. United, the world's second-largest airline, had forecast in its plan to exit bankruptcy protection that the new stock would trade at US$15 a share. The company is issuing 125 million shares, mainly to creditors and to United employees, who provided more than US$4 billion in pay and benefit concessions to help reduce UAL's costs and stem losses.
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned