■ Oil
Prices rise ahead of meet
World oil prices climbed yesterday ahead of an extraordinary meeting of OPEC in Doha later in the week. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery next month, advanced US$0.63 to US$59.20 per barrel in electronic deals before the official opening of the US market. In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery next month gained US$0.29 to US$59.81 per barrel in electronic trading. Qatar's Energy Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said on Sunday that an extraordinary meeting of OPEC will be held in Doha to discuss a cut in production to check the fall in the price of crude oil.
■ Food
Nestle sells off canned milk
Nestle SA is selling its canned liquid milk business in Southeast Asia for an undisclosed sum to Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad of Singapore, the Swiss food giant said yesterday. F&N will take over production from Feb. 1 and produce canned milk under license for Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and a number of other countries in the region. The deal also includes the sale to F&N of various assets at a Thai production plant. Nestle said the sale was part of a move to streamline its product portfolio and concentrate on nutrition and wellness products.
■ Computers
Makers may seek damages
Japanese computer makers Toshiba Corp, Fujitsu Ltd and Hitachi Ltd said yesterday they were considering seeking compensation from Sony Corp over the massive recall of Sony-made batteries used in their laptop computers. Toshiba is recalling 830,000 Sony battery packs. "We are considering various possibilities, but we have not made a final decision," company spokeswoman Junko Furuta said. Fujitsu said seeking compensation was "possible," but that it needed to carry out its recall of more than 338,000 Sony-made laptop batteries first before deciding the extent of damage on the company's business. Hitachi, which is recalling about 16,000 batteries, also said seeking a compensation from Sony was an option.
■ Water
Thames favors Qatar: report
A consortium put together by the state of Qatar is best placed to acquire the British water distribution group Thames Water, after it submitted an offer of US$14.8 billion, the British press reported on Sunday. Several newspapers reported that the Qatar Investment Authority, backed by Swiss bank UBS, had submitted the most interesting offer by the end of the tender process on Saturday. The subsidiary of German No. 2 energy company RWE has also drawn interest from British investment group Terra Firma, which is led by businessman Guy Hands, and Australian bank Macquarie, which has also been mentioned as a potential buyer.
■ Energy
Marubeni bags Qatar plan
Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp said yesterday it had won the right to build one of the world's largest independent power producer projects in Qatar valued at US$2.3 billion. Marubeni will take a 40 percent stake in the thermal power plant. Qatar Electricity and Water Co will also have a 40 percent, with Qatar Petroleum holding the remaining 20 percent. Marubeni said it will complete construction of the plant in Mesaieed by April 2010 and will manage it for 25 years.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2