■ Electronics
Samsung aims for Slovakia
Samsung Electronics Co plans to invest a total of US$422 million by 2011 to build its first liquid crystal display assembly plant in Slovakia, the company said yesterday in a public disclosure. The decision comes after Samsung said last week it would initially spend 147.4 billion won (US$156 million) to start construction of a production line assembling liquid crystal display panels in the first half of this year. The panels are used for flat screen televisions, which are fast replacing older and bulky cathode ray tube types.
■ Energy
Mitsubishi to build reactors
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will win an order to build two nuclear reactors in Texas, becoming the first Japanese firm to export reactors on its own to the growing US market, a report said yesterday. In a deal valued at an estimated US$5.17 billion, US operator TXU has tapped Mitsubishi Heavy to expand its nuclear power plant operations in the suburbs of Dallas, the Nikkei Shinbun said. Mitsubishi Heavy will build two reactors for TXU, which plans to construct five reactors by 2020, the newspaper said.
■ Finance
Lone Star rejects audit
US buyout fund Lone Star yesterday rejected a South Korean state audit that could nullify its 2003 takeover of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) after it pointed to alleged financial irregularities in the deal. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said on Monday the US fund was "not qualified" in 2003 to be KEB's largest shareholder and that KEB's losses had been deliberately inflated to undercut the value of the bank. Lone Star chairman John Grayken said in response yesterday that the BAI still left "a number of unanswered questions," including how and why many different state bodies had approved the deal.
■ Retail
Giants to merge in Japan
Japanese retailers Daimaru Inc and Matsuzakaya Holdings Co said yesterday they would merge operations to form the nation's biggest department store chain to fend off tougher competition amid shrinking consumer demand. Daimaru, Japan's fourth-biggest department store chain by sales, and No. 8 Matsuzakaya will set up a holding company on Sept. 3, the companies said in a release. Under the accord, one Daimaru share will be exchanged for 1.4 shares of the joint holding company, while Matsuzakaya shareholders will get a one for one exchange. The new company will be the biggest in the industry with combined sales of ?1.167 trillion (US$10.1 billion).
■ Aviation
AirAsia plans delayed
Take-off for Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X has been delayed, possibly until September next year, as delays in Airbus' new A380 super-jumbo have disrupted the aircraft leasing market, a top executive said yesterday. At its launch in January, the carrier had promised flights to Britain beginning this July. Raja Mohamad Azmi, chief executive officer of Fly Asian Express, the operating company for the service, said however the service had been put back because aircraft leasing costs were higher than projected because of the A380 problems. "We remain committed to begin the long-haul service. The new take-off date is by September 2008 when we begin to receive delivery of our new aircraft," Azmi 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