■ Aerospace
Chirac, Merkel tackle EADS
Troubles at EADS and its plane-making subsidiary Airbus were high on the agenda as French President Jacques Chirac hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel for a Franco-German summit in Paris yesterday. Chirac signaled support for Airbus restructuring ahead of the summit, where ministers from both countries were to discuss politically sensitive job cuts at the crisis-hit European aircraft maker. The French leader, amid growing concern that an Airbus shake-up could cause friction between the two countries, also sought to reduce investor fears of heavy-handed political intervention in Airbus and its parent company, EADS Co.
■ Real Estate
Asia ripe for REIT, S&P says
Asia is ripe for an "explosion" in real estate investment trusts (REIT) as China, Pakistan, Dubai and Saudi Arabia consider legislative reforms to boost the market, Standard & Poor's said yesterday. In the third quarter to last month, an index compiled by S&P and Citigroup showed the Asia-Pacific property market rose 7.46 percent from a year earlier, less than the 12.44 percent growth in Europe and 9.75 percent in the US. The Asia-Pacific REITs market expanded 8.32 percent in the third quarter, compared with 16.59 percent in Europe and 9.68 percent in the US. "The region is ripe for a REIT explosion," the report said.
■ Advertising
Thailand to ban booze ads
Thailand will ban alcohol advertisements from local television, magazines and other forms of media under a proposed law aimed at curbing underage drinking, an official said yesterday. Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla said the law is expected to take effect immediately after it goes before the Cabinet next week for formal approval. The new ban would apply only to domestic media and would not cover advertisements that run during live international broadcasts, such as sporting events, Mongkol said.
■ Telecoms
BellSouth bid approved
The US Justice Department approved AT&T's proposal to take over BellSouth on Wednesday, clearing one of the last hurdles in a deal that would create the largest US telecommunications firm. The department's antitrust chief, Thomas Barnett, said it had concluded that the deal was "not likely to reduce competition substantially" because of emerging technologies changing the competitive landscape. The US$67 billion merger, which still needs approval by the US Federal Communications Commission, would give AT&T full control of Cingular Wireless, the largest US mobile operator, which it currently owns jointly with BellSouth.
■ Media
Australian law clears hurdle
New laws that would allow more foreign investment and mergers in Australia's media industry cleared their final hurdle yesterday when the Senate approved them by a vote of 36-32. The House of Representatives has yet to pass the legislation but the center-right government's clear majority in the second parliamentary chamber has ensured that the ruling coalition's legislative agenda has never been rejected there in the decade it has been in power. Current media laws bar foreign companies from controlling more than 15 percent of a television company and more than 25 percent of a newspaper publisher.
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
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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