■ 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.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from