■ Banking
HSBC screened `bad' cash
HSBC, one of the world's biggest banks, helped screen large deposits of cash from North Korean customers for a Macau bank accused by the US of helping Pyongyang distribute counterfeit money, a lawyer for the Macau bank has told US investigators. "We take money laundering control very seriously. We comply stringently with anti-money-laundering regulations issued by our various regulators, including in the US," HSBC spokesman Gareth Hewett in Hong Kong said. The Macau lender, Banco Delta Asia, said it was a "small, family-owned institution" that didn't have the technology to check big batches of US currency for fake bills.
■ Technology
Hynix CEO to resign
Hynix Semiconductor's chief executive, who helped lead the South Korean chipmaker out of a major debt crisis, plans to resign, a company official said yesterday. Woo Eui-jei, 63, told a board meeting on Monday of his intention to step down, said James Kim, a Hynix investor relations official. A new CEO was expected to be named and approved by the company's board and shareholders by the end of next month, Kim said, emphasizing that Woo's decision was entirely his own. News of the resignation came as the Icheon, South Korea-based company said on Wednesday its net profit and sales hit all-time highs in the fourth quarter.
■ Banking
Bank plans Vietnam deal
Deutsche Bank plans to buy up to 20 percent of Vietnam's Habubank, pending state approval, becoming the third foreign bank in a week to announce plans to increase its presence here, officials said yesterday. If the contract is approved, Deutsche Bank will become the largest shareholder in the Ha Noi Building Joint Stock Commercial Bank and be entitled to join its board of directors. No financial terms of the deal were disclosed. The banks will cooperate in the areas of credit cards, wealthy clients and the development and distribution of investment products.
■ Internet
Amazon profits plummet
Online retailer Amazon reported on Thursday that its profits plummeted in the year-end quarter of last year despite record holiday-season sales. Amazon's net income for its fourth fiscal quarter was US$98 million, or US$0.23 per share, as compared with US$199 million, or US$0.47 per share, during the same period in 2005. Executives said that the loss of a tax benefit resulted in the government taking a bigger chunk of its revenues last year. The Seattle, Washington-based Internet company had also continued spending money on its strategy of diversifying stocks of goods and wooing devotees with free shipping of purchases by members of its subscription Amazon Prime service.
■ Steel
Union seeks Tata assurance
Britain's largest steel trade union has demanded a meeting with Indian tycoon Ratan Tata, seeking assurances he will remain committed to expanding Corus Group Plc after his winning US$13.7 billion bid for the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker. Community, which describes itself as the dominant union in Corus representing 80 percent of its UK employees, also sought British government backing for the steel industry's attempt to ward off "accelerated or slow demise" and protect jobs.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite