■ Telcos
SingTel eyes Vietnam
Singapore Telecommuni-cations Ltd said yesterday it wants to invest in Vietnam's telecom sector. "Vietnam is in our area of interest," SingTel deputy CEO Chua Sock-koong (蔡淑君) told a news conference. The Hanoi government has been considering liberalizing the country's telecommuni-cations sector for some time but no decisions have been made. "The timing [of the liberalization] is entirely up to the Vietnamese government," said Chua, who is due to take over from Lee Hsien-yang (李顯揚) as chief executive in April. She added that SingTel would like to increase its 30.5 percent stake in India's Bharti Airtel Ltd.
■ Internet
Cockfighting mags will stay
Amazon.com says it will keep selling two magazines about cockfighting, despite plans by the Humane Society of the US to file a lawsuit yesterday accusing the company of operating an illegal "animal-fighting paraphernalia sale and distribution scheme." The on-line retailer said, however, that it would again remove videos that depict dogfights, months after the issue was originally raised by Humane Society officials. The Humane Society said it would file the lawsuit yesterday morning in District of Columbia Superior Court.
■ Computers
Dell selling other brands
Dell Inc on Wednesday began selling flat-panel televisions from rival electronics manufacturer Sony Corp and said it would soon offer products from a variety of companies as it tweaks its consumer business strategy. A visit to Dell's Web site showed two Sony Bravia LCD televisions -- a 40-inch and a 46-inch model -- on sale alongside TVs made by the Round Rock, Texas, company. In a statement, Dell said it would continue to offer Dell-branded televisions from 37 inches and below, but would soon offer "a wide assortment of televisions from leading manufacturers that feature the latest technology and meet Dell's high standards for performance."
■ Trade
Malaysia drops FTA topics
Malaysia said yesterday that intractable "no-go" areas could be dropped from free trade talks with the US as Washington races to strike a deal before a March deadline. Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said she and her counterpart, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, decided during a phone conversation on Wednesday to list areas where talks had broken down to see if any progress could be made. Difficult areas included Malaysian government procurement, where the US is seeking priority treatment in the awarding of international tenders for expensive government projects.
■ Forex reserves
Seoul to invest in blue chips
South Korea is considering investing part of its massive foreign reserves in overseas blue-chip stocks in an attempt to increase investment returns, the central bank chief said yesterday. The reserves totaled US$240.23 billion as of the end of last month, the world's fifth largest after China, Japan, Russia and Taiwan. Most were invested in US Treasuries and other foreign state bonds. "We are considering managing foreign reserves through overseas investment banks," Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong-tae said. "One possible option is to invest them in blue-chip stocks in advanced nations," he said.
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