■ Economy
HK beats expectations
Hong Kong's economy is set to grow by more than 6 percent this year, higher than the government's forecast of a 4 to 5 percent increase, a media report said yesterday. Standard Chartered Bank has upgraded its full-year estimate from 6 percent to 7 percent, while HSBC is forecasting 6.4 percent growth and Hang Seng Bank 6.3 percent, the South China Morning Post said. The Hong Kong government will announce second-quarter economic growth data next Tuesday, after the economy expanded by 8.2 percent in the first quarter.
■ Airlines
Air Berlin shares surge
Shares in budget airline Air Berlin Plc surged 5.5 percent yesterday after Germany's second biggest carrier announced that it had acquired rival DBA as part of moves to expand the number of its routes. Air Berlin said that it would pay a "mid double-digit million euro" amount for the Munich-based DBA. "Acquiring our dream partner was an opportunity not to be missed," Air Berlin chief executive Joachim Hunold said announcing the purchase. The announcement led to Air Berlin shares, which were only listed on the stock market in May, rising to 10.44 euros (US$13.40) in early morning trading.
■ Internet
Business cards online
A Chinese Web site has sparked controversy by posting information from 2 million people's business cards without their consent and winning 5 million visits a month, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. Mingpian.com, named after the Chinese word for business card, offers people's mobile phone and office numbers and e-mail and company addresses for free, Xinhua said. Xinhua said the Web site had deleted information about some protesting card owners but insisted its practice provided "valuable business information for China's sales and marketing people and helps companies recruit competent employees."
■ Retail
Sino-French venture at risk
Chinese supermarket giant Lianhua (聯華) may ditch its stake in a money-losing discount retail chain it runs with French retail powerhouse Carrefour, an official and a Hong Kong newspaper said yesterday. Lianhua may sell its 45 percent share in the 120-outlet Shanghai Dia Lianhua to Carrefour, Lianhua executive director Liang Wei (良威) was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post. The Sino-French venture was set up in 2003 with registered total capital of 90 million yuan (US$11.25 million). A final decision would be reached before the end of the year, said Liang, who declined to provide details.
■ Automobiles
Subaru might outsource
Toyota Motor Corp, the world's second-largest automaker, is considering providing small cars to the maker of Subaru autos for sale in Europe, where demand for fuel-efficient vehicles is expected to increase, a news report said yesterday. The deal would include Toyota's popular Vitz model, called the Yaris in Europe, and its Aygo model, which is only sold in Europe, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported without saying how it got its information. The partnership will take effect as early as 2008, it said. The autos will be built for Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, the maker of Subaru-brand autos.
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
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
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
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