■ Banking
Citigroup appoints new COO
The world's largest banking group, Citigroup, announced new management on Monday as it vies with competitor Bank of America, which is aggressively expanding its turf. Citigroup said in a statement that it had appointed Robert Druskin, 59, as its new chief operating officer. Druskin will report directly to Citigroup chief executive Chuck Prince. "One of his [Druskin's] first tasks is to undertake a comprehensive review of our expense base," Prince said.
■ Steel
Giants join forces
South Korean steel giant POSCO and Japanese rival Nippon Steel have agreed to jointly conduct purchasing operations for iron ore in the next contract year, officials said yesterday. The aim is to secure a stable supply as China's growing appetite for raw materials causes shortages and pushes up costs, POSCO spokeswoman Ko Min-jin said. The next contract year starts in April, she said. Nippon Steel and POSCO, the world's second and third largest steelmakers by output, forged a partnership based on a cross-shareholding arrangement in 2000. In October they agreed to increase stakes in each other's company by March next year.
■ Food
Ministry approves sale
China's Ministry of Commerce has given a green light for a Goldman Sachs unit to buy China's biggest meat processor, Shuanghui Group (雙匯集團), the company said yesterday. Rotary Vortex Ltd, which is 51 percent owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, will buy Shuanghui and a stake in its publicly traded unit, Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development Co, for a total of ?2.57 billion (US$325 million), Shuanghui said in an announcement posted on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's Web site. Rotary Vortex's plan to buy a 100 percent stake in Shuanghui was among several high profile foreign acquisitions that raised criticism about the growing influence of foreign businesses in key industries.
■ Finance
Japan to cut bond issuance
Japan will make its largest ever cut in bond issuance to trim budget spending for the fiscal year beginning in April, the government's top spokesman said yesterday, part of an effort to reduce the country's huge national debt. The government plans a deeper cut in new bond sales than the ?4.4 trillion (US$37.8 billion) reduction for the current fiscal year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told reporters. That would bring total bond issuance for the year to below ?25.5 trillion. Japan's combined outstanding central and local government debt is expected to stand at around 150 percent of GDP at the end of this fiscal year through March, the highest among major industrialized nations.
■ Mobile phones
Prada and LG team up
Italian luxury goods designer Prada has tied up with South Korea's LG Electronics in hopes of developing the ultimate mobile phone fashion accessory, officials said yesterday. LG said in a statement that distribution of the phone would start in early next year in Europe, followed by Asia. It will be available in South Korea in the second quarter of next year. The company said it would develop a unique, sophisticated and elegant phone, with an advanced-touch interface which eliminates the conventional keypad.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from