■ Financial
Citigroup reports profit
Citigroup Inc, the world's biggest financial-services company by market value, reported a better-than-expected 3.6 percent increase in first-quarter profit, buoyed by record investment-banking revenue. Net income climbed to US$5.64 billion, or US$1.12 a share, from US$5.44 billion, or US$1.04, in the same period a year ago, New York-based Citigroup said in a Business Wire release. Revenue rose to US$22.2 billion. Citigroup's securities unit, the biggest of any bank, helped CEO Charles Prince report a seventh straight increase in quarterly profit as rising short-term interest rates crimped profit in other divisions.
■ Free trade
Thailand, Japan to ink pact
Thailand plans to sign a free trade pact with Japan in July after a postponement from this month due to Bangkok's political crisis, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said yesterday. "Early July is the appropriate time when everything is ready and Thailand will have a new government by then," Somkid told reporters. The two countries reached a basic deal late last year after being held up by a Japanese insistence that only goods originating in Thailand would be covered. "After several rounds of talks, Japan eased some of the rules and that made Thai exporters happier," a Thai official said. About 500 Thai agricultural products are covered by the agreement. In 2004, exports of those products to Japan amounted to 42 billion baht (US$1.7 billion). Thailand's main concessions were lower tariffs on steel and automobiles, while Japan will lift all tariffs on Thai canned tuna, cooked chicken, shrimp and vegetables.
■ Aviation
BAA rejects takeover bid
BAA Plc, the world's largest airports operator, said it rejected a takeover bid from a consortium led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc as it didn't reflect the company's "true value." The "preliminary, highly conditional" bid was made on March 30, London-based BAA said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday. That was one week before the company rejected a hostile bid from Grupo Ferrovial SA, Spain's second-largest builder, that valued it at £8.75 billion (US$15.3 billion). BAA rejected Goldman's approach "because it clearly fails to reflect the true value of the company," the statement said. Goldman is seeking to increase its infrastructure investments and last month bid US$3.8 billion for Associated British Ports Holdings Plc, the largest UK operator of ports.
■ Investment
OECD urges more opening
China could attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) if it set up transparent merger and acquisition procedures and fully opened its capital markets, the OECD said yesterday. "There is a possibility of even more investment in China," Ken Davies, senior economist at the OECD, told reporters. "China attracts a lot of FDI, more than any other developing country, but less FDI per head than 29 out of the 30 OECD countries." Davis was speaking at yesterday's launch of the OECD's Investment Policy Review -- China, which recommends Beijing fully open its capital markets and set up merger and acquisition standards in accordance with international practice. Relaxing foreign ownership restrictions and increasing regulatory transparency would also help increase FDI inflows, he said. China last year attracted US$60.33 billion in realized FDI, down 0.5 percent year-on-year.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a