■ Computers
Hynix invests in China
Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's second-largest maker of computer memory chips, said it plans to spend 196.5 billion won (US$200 million) on a chip-making venture in China with STMicroelectronics NV. Hynix plans to invest the amount for 67 percent of Hynix-ST Semiconductor Ltd, Ichon, South Korea-based Hynix said in a regulatory filing in Seoul yesterday. Combined with STMicro's purchase of the remaining stake, the total equity investment in the venture will probably be 351 billion won, the statement said. The two companies, which will build the memory-chip plant in Wuxi, eastern China, said in 2004 that the total equity investment would amount to about US$375 million. Hynix and STMicro are betting on a growing appetite for chips from Chinese companies such as Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想).
■ Economy
Japanese figures revised
The Japanese economy's strong growth in the fourth quarter of last year was yesterday revised down a notch to 1.3 percent, or 5.4 percent in annualized terms, the Cabinet Office said. The performance by the world's second largest economy, which has been in the doldrums for much of the past decade, is still nearly five times faster than the US, which saw 1.1 percent annualized growth in the same period. The figures have raised hopes that Japan has come definitively out of its slump. Last week, the Bank of Japan ended its unusual five-year emergency policy of flooding the financial system with cash to provide virtually free credit. The government had originally estimated 1.4 percent growth for the October to December quarter or 5.5 percent on an annualized basis.
■ Retail
Department stores sold
Australia's largest retailer, Coles Myer Ltd, announced yesterday it is selling its Myer department store chain to investment group Newbridge Capital and a company run by the Myer family for A$1.4 billion (US$1 billion). The sale of the chain of 61 Myer stores is expected to be complete in the coming months, said Coles Myer chairman Rick Allert. Allert said the decision to sell the Myer stores was driven by the Coles Myer board's belief the company's food and liquor business and Myer will perform better separately.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Merck makes bid for rival
German drug and chemical maker Merck KGaA has made a cash bid for the takeover of domestic rival Schering AG in a multibillion euro deal, Schering said on Sunday. In a brief statement, Schering AG said it had received an offer of 77 euros (US$91.78) per share from Merck KGaA. "After the information about the approach became public, the executive board of Schering AG stated that this offer significantly undervalues Schering and its prospects as an independent specialized pharmaceutical company," Schering said. Though Schering did not term the bid hostile, it said the company "also confirmed the approach is unsolicited and that no negotiations are ongoing with Merck KGaA." According to an online report in Manager-Magazin.de, the approximately 130 Merck family members who own 73 percent of the company would float 20 percent of their shares on the stock exchange and use the proceeds plus 2 billion euros in cash in the bid for Berlin-based Schering.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique