■ Communications
Siemens may sell Com unit
German industrial company Siemens AG is discussing the possible sale of its main communications unit to Motorola Inc, a German newspaper reported on Saturday. Motorola has expressed interest in the unit, but Siemens wants to include other struggling units in any deal, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said in a summary of an article that appeared yesterday. The newspaper, which did not identify the source of its information, said both companies had declined to comment. Officials at Siemens, could not be reached immediately on Saturday. Siemens' Com unit, which includes its profitable cellphone network business, posted sales of US$15.86 billion in the Munich-based company's last fiscal year, which ended last September. Earnings, however, have been eroded by the cost of laying off staff at ailing parts of the unit.
■ publishing
McClatchy may sell papers
McClatchy Co expects to sell 12 Knight Ridder Inc newspapers for US$2.15 billion after it closes a US$4.5 billion deal to buy the company, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Saturday. Money from the sale, less US$635 million in taxes, may offset McClatchy's US$75 million in costs, the California-based publisher said in a 215-page filing to shareholders. McClatchy said it expects to close the transaction by Aug. 31 if 80 percent of Knight Ridder shareholders approve. Private-equity firm Yucaipa Cos and its partner, the Newspaper Guild-CWA union, has made a US$2.2 billion bid for all 12 newspapers, the Los Angeles Times reported on April 6. McClatchy will keep 20 Knight Ridder daily papers, including the Miami Herald, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Kansas City Star.
■ Automobiles
Mitsubishi plans new SUV
Mitsubishi Motors Corp plans to start making a new version of the Outlander sports utility vehicle at a factory in Japan that it earlier planned to shut down, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said yesterday. Mitsubishi Motors will start producing the model at the Okazaki plant in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture by the end of the year for export to North America, the newspaper reported, without citing its source. The automaker is also considering cutting 1,000 jobs at a Netherlands plant and reducing its output capacity there by a third, the paper said. Mitsubishi Motors, which had decided to close the Okazaki plant in 2004 because of slow sales of the Colt compact and other models, postponed a decision on whether to maintain or close the factory for two or three years to monitor demand, it said.
■ Oil
Titan planning distribution
Titan Petrochemicals Group Ltd (泰山石化集團) said it plans to expand into oil product distribution in China next year after posting a 24 percent drop in net profit last year due to high marine fuel oil costs and falling tanker rates. The Hong Kong-based oil trader plans this year to boost its carrying capacity of oil products, such as fuel oil and gasoline, given China's robust demand for petrochemical products, CEO Barry Cheung (張震遠) told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview. Titan announced last week that its net profit last year totaled HK$303 million (US$39 million), down from HK$400 million in 2004. Sales, however, surged to HK$10.46 billion from HK$3.49 billion, thanks to a 42 percent rise in its fleet capacity.
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
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
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