■ Gambling
Sands bets on Asia
Las Vegas Sands will double its investment in casinos in Macau, spending more than US$8 billion there and on a nearby island over the next four to six years, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Bill Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, told the newspaper that the development opportunities were contingent upon approvals by the territory and will occur in phases over time. He said the US company's total investments and turnover would triple as a result of its initiatives in Asia. "Most of the company's investments and revenues will be in Asia," he was quoted as saying. In Macau, the company plans to spend US$3 billion each in two phases on the Cotai Strip and is also in talks to develop nearby Heng Qin island, the report said. In May, the US gaming operator won the bid to invest more than US$3.18 billion in a casino resort in Singapore, making it one of the most expensive projects of its kind in the world. The casino is due to open in 2009.
■ Paper
Hokuetsu wants Mitsubishi
Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd yesterday rejected a takeover bid from Oji Paper Co that would reportedly have created the world's fifth-biggest paper maker. Hokuetsu said it will instead go ahead with a planned tie-up with Mitsubishi Corp, a deal that involves issuing shares to Mitsubishi to earn funds for capital investment and expansion. Oji, Japan's No. 1 paper producer, announced on Sunday a plan to conduct a tender offer bid for at least 50.1 percent of Hokuetsu and consolidate their operations, on the condition that Hokuetsu cancels its plan to issue new shares to Mitsubishi. The proposed takeover would have created the world's fifth-biggest paper maker, with annual sales of around ¥1.36 trillion (US$11.7 billion), the Nihon Keizai Shimbun earlier reported. Under Oji's proposal, it would pay ¥860 per Hokuetsu share, a premium of about 35 percent above Hokuetsu's closing price on Friday. Mitsubishi Corp said Friday it would invest ¥30.35 billion in Hokuetsu to help it bolster an existing plant in Niigata, northern Japan.
■ Telecoms
Yellow pages for sale
French telecommunications giant France Telecom SA said yesterday that it is in talks with investment fund Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co Ltd (KKR) to sell its 54 percent stake in yellow pages service PagesJaunes. KKR's bid values PagesJaunes at 22 euro (US$27.90) per share, or 3.3 billion euro for France Telecom's stake, the French company said in a statement. The private equity fund plans to launch a buy-out offer for the remaining shares in PagesJaunes, based in Sevres, France. Such funds normally seek complete control, making it easier for them to restructure the company before reselling it. France Telecom also said that it agreed to sell its satellite services unit France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications SA to private-equity fund Apax Partner for 60 million euros.
■ Collectables
Hello Kitty plays guitar
Hello Kitty fans in Japan now have a chance to purchase a Fender electric guitar decorated with the world's most famous cat. The Hello Kitty Stratocaster is one of three in the world. The other two were sold in the US, Sanrio Co, said yesterday. The sparkling black guitar embedded with the classic Hello Kitty face is to be priced at ¥2.52 million (US$22,000). The guitar goes on sale today at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo.
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
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
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