■ Telecoms
Temasek retaining stake
Singapore's investment firm Temasek Holdings will retain its stake in Shin Corp bought from Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's family despite a share-price plunge, a report said yesterday. The Edge financial weekly said that a slump in the share price had wiped US$1.55 billion off the value of the telecoms group, whose sale in January sparked a political crisis in Thailand. "We are committed as a long-term investor in Shin and are confident of Shin's board and management to grow the business," the weekly quoted Temasek spokeswoman Rachel Lin as saying when asked about the investment. Temasek, which owns more than a 96 percent stake in Shin, has seen the conglomerate's stock price fall 39 percent since Thaksin's family sold the telecommunications giant, the weekly said.
■ Automobiles
Giants may buy 20% of GM
Nissan Motor Co and Renault SA may buy as much as 20 percent of struggling US automaker General Motors Corp, Kyodo News reported. Nissan and Renault may each take a 10 percent stake in GM, Kyodo said, citing unidentified sources. The investment would create an alliance that produces more than 15 million automobiles a year, Kyodo said. Kirk Kerkorian, GM's biggest individual shareholder, wrote a letter to the carmaker two days ago urging it to ally with Nissan and Renault, both run by Carlos Ghosn. Renault owns 44 percent of Nissan, which in turn owns 15 percent of Renault. Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp, the owner of a 9.9 percent stake in GM, said in the letter to chief executive officer Rick Wagoner that the Japanese and French companies are receptive to buying "a significant minority interest."
■ Tourism
Ministers agree cooperation
Ministers in charge of tourism from Japan, China and South Korea agreed yesterday to work together to boost the number of visitors among the three countries. Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawa, China's National Tourism Chief Shao Qiwei (邵琪偉) and South Korean Culture and Tourism Chief Kim Myong-gon signed a statement that included an effort to boost the number of visitors among the three nations to 17 million from the current 12 million within the next five years. In their first tourism summit, held in Hokkaido, Japan, the three leaders also agreed to activate tourism through school trips and promotional events in the region, broadcaster NHK reported. "It is extremely important for Japan, China and South Korea to respect each of our cultures and promote people exchanges among us essential partners," Kitagawa said after signing the agreement. The three nations also agreed to hold annual tripartite tourism talks.
■ Aviation
Changi to continue upgrades
Singapore is seeking to further liberalize air services with its neighbors to maintain the city-state's Changi Airport as a regional aviation hub, former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀) said. "Changi must continue its efforts to upgrade and update its services and facilities in preparation for the challenges ahead," Lee said on Saturday at a function to celebrate the airport's 25th anniversary. "We will also continue to liberalize our air services agreements with China, India and ASEAN nations to facilitate the growth of both Singapore and foreign carriers at Changi," he said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary