■ Trade
Canada complains to China
Canada joined a chorus of trade complaints against China on Thursday, accusing it of unfairly blocking foreign-made auto parts, officials said. Following similar requests by the US and the EU, Canada asked for WTO consultations on China's treatment of imported auto parts. "We are seeking clarification from China on its current auto-part import regime, which we believe contravenes a number of the country's international trade obligations," Trade Minister David Emerson said in a statement. China imported an average C$256 million (US$222 million) annually between 2003 and last year, according to officials. Since April last year imported auto parts for use in the assembly of complete vehicles are, in some cases, being assessed at higher rates than expected under China's WTO tariff schedule, Emerson said.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Bayer raises Schering offer
Bayer AG on Thursday made its official takeover bid for Schering AG, offering 16.5 billion euros (US$20.01 billion) -- slightly more than the 16.3 billion euros that Schering's board had recommended for acceptance. Bayer said it made a final takeover offer of 86 euros per share. The increase over the previous offer came because Schering had issued shares from its own shareholding for fulfillment of employee options, Bayer said in a statement. The planned merger of Schering AG and the Bayer pharmaceuticals division will create a new international heavyweight in pharmaceutical specialty products. It is also expected to result in the loss of some 6,000 jobs. The new firm will be named Bayer-Schering Pharmaceuticals and have its headquarters in Berlin.
■ Film
New LCD film plant planned
Konica Minolta Holdings Inc, which is pulling out of cameras to focus on office equipment, plans to raise production of film used in liquid-crystal displays by 40 percent as demand for larger TV sets rises. Konica Minolta plans to invest ¥14 billion (US$118 million) to build its fifth factory in Kobe to start in the autumn of next year, spokesman Katsuyuki Sakai said, responding to an earlier Nihon Keizai report. The new line will expand output to 170 million square meters of film a year. Tokyo-based Konica Minolta joins bigger rival Fuji Photo Film Co in expanding production of film used in flat-panel displays. Fuji Photo, which has 80 percent of the global market for the material, said on April 3 that it will raise its investments on production by 10 percent to ¥110 billion. "Demand is very strong as consumer electronics makers are shifting to larger panels," Sakai said.
■ Software
Outsourcing boosts Infosys
India's second-largest software exporter, Infosys Technologies, said yesterday its full-year net profit jumped 30.2 percent thanks to an outsourcing boom. Net profit for the financial year to last month rose to 24.6 billion rupees (US$546 million) from 18.9 billion rupees, according to figures compiled using Indian accounting norms. Total revenues increased 33.5 percent to 95.2 billion rupees, Infosys said in a statement. "It took us 23 years to reach the first billion dollars in revenues while we reached the next billion dollars in 23 months," chief executive officer Nandan Nilekani said. The firm forecast revenue growth of 29 to 31 percent in the current fiscal year with earnings per share growth of 26 to 28 percent.
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
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
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
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