■ Banking
Strike called off
Employees of the State Bank of India called off a week-long strike on Sunday after the government agreed to hike their pensions, Finance Minister P. Chidamabaram said. "We have reached an agreement with unions representing the workers," Chidambaram told a news conference. More than 200,000 employees of the government-owned bank -- the country's largest -- had been on strike for a week demanding a hike in pensions, which have remained at 4,250 rupees (US$96) a month for more than a decade. The government agreed to raise the pension to 10,520 rupees. "Today, both sides have quite correctly adjusted the pension to the new pay scale," the minister said. The strike had paralyzed the bank's 9,000 branches.
■ Trade
Free trade talks resume
Japan resumed talks yesterday to reach a free trade deal with the 10 members of the ASEAN after an eight-month stalemate, the foreign ministry said. Japan will also hold bilateral talks during the three-day meeting with Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in hopes of finding ways for Tokyo to help bridge the income gap in the regional bloc. ASEAN and Japan opened negotiations in April last year which came to a halt after a second round in August. Japan is now looking only to secure a free-trade deal and not a more comprehensive accord that would include measures to settle trade disputes and protect intellectual property, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. But the foreign ministry said Japan still aimed to seal an agreement with ASEAN.
■ Catering
Compass promises buyback
British catering company Compass Group PLC said on Sunday it is to return £500 million (US$870 million) to shareholders following the sale of its airport and railway food arm. Chief Executive Michael Bailey said the company had agreed the sale of travel catering business Select Service Partner to EQT, a Stockholm-based group of private equity funds. The Moto chain of British motorway service stations has been sold to a consortium led by Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd as part of the deal, Bailey said. In a statement, Compass Group PLC said the sales were worth around £1.82 billion. "Completion of the sales enables us to focus on the core contract catering and support services business," finance director Andrew Martin said in a statement. Compass said it would return proceeds to shareholders in 12 to 18 months through a share buyback program.
■ Retail
IKEA expanding in China
IKEA yesterday unveiled a new outlet in Beijing that will be its biggest in Asia -- a seven-story, US$100 million behemoth that the Swedish furniture maker hopes will put it ahead in China's thriving but crowded market. The new store, due to open tomorrow, will be IKEA's third in China, and the company plans to have a total of 10 outlets within five years, said Ian Duffy, president of the company's Asia-Pacific division. Beijing's new IKEA store, with 43,000m2 of showrooms -- equivalent to five football fields -- is second only to the company's flagship outlet in its home city of Stockholm. It includes a 213m restaurant and 77 mock-ups of living rooms and bedrooms. Duffy said China currently accounts for only 1 percent to 2 percent of IKEA's sales worldwide but sales are expected to grow by 30 percent to 50 percent a year.
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
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
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