■ Automobiles
Nissan reducing production
Nissan Motor Co, Japan's second-biggest automaker, said yesterday it was cutting back production at two domestic auto assembly plants in the face of weakening sales in Japan. Tokyo-based Nissan had already forecast falling output for the current fiscal year through March next year, and the production reductions were based on that plan, Nissan spokesman Kiyoshi Ariga said. The lower production would affect Nissan's Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and another plant in Tochigi Prefecture, northeast of the capital. Sales in Japan slid 27 percent in April from a year earlier, the company said.
■ Internet
Netscape reborn
Netscape, a pioneering Internet search portal, was reborn on Thursday as an interactive news Web site that merges the ingenuity of users with the skills of professional journalists. Parent company AOL launched a preliminary version of the Web site at www.beta.netscape.com and plans to "flip the switch," making the change official on July 1, according to spokesman Andrew Weinstein. In the new Netscape, users can channel stories, images, blog entries, videos or other potentially interesting tidbits to the site, where experienced news reporters will determine the page play and follow-up on their merit, Weinstein said.
■ Trade
Malaysia wants FTA
Malaysian producers yesterday said a trade pact with the US would allow the local industry to compete against China, which enjoys a lower cost advantage. "Preferential treatment gained through the FTA [free trade agreement] will provide Malaysian manufacturers the competitive advantage over competitors that are able to produce at lower cost such as from China," the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers said in a statement. Malaysia and the US were to conclude yesterday the first round of their FTA talks in Penang.
■ Tax
Germany hikes VAT
Germany's upper house of parliament yesterday agreed to a proposal from Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to increase the value-added tax from 16 percent to 19 percent next year. Business groups have complained that the increase in the tax, paid by consumers at the cash register, will squelch recovering domestic demand and hurt the economy. But the government insists the money is needed to cut the budget deficit. Leading economists have forecast that economic growth will slow to 1.2 percent next year from 1.8 percent this year. The increase was approved by the Bundestag lower house on May 19.
■ Trade
May exports up 18.2%
Singapore's main exports grew 18.2 percent year-on-year last month, picking up speed on the back of strong electronics shipments to the city-state's main markets such as the US, the government said yesterday. Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) last month were valued at S$13.42 billion (US$8.49 billion), compared with S$13.36 billion in April when they were up 10 percent year-on-year, International Enterprise Singapore. Last month's 18.2 percent rise in NODX was at the top end of analysts' forecasts of 13.7 percent to 18.5 percent. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, last month's NODX fell 2.3 percent.
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