■ Forex
Baht reaches 10-year high
Thailand's baht rose for a second day yesterday, trading at the highest level since September 1997, after the central bank said it can't prevent exporters from buying the currency. The baht gained 0.3 percent to 34.83 against the US dollar in onshore trading from a close of 34.92 last Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. The currency is also rising because of inflows into the country's current account, said Thanomsri Fongarunrung, an economist at Phatra Securities Plc in Bangkok. The baht will likely "strengthen to 34 during the course of the year" as the account surplus widens, she said.
■ Electronics
Sanyo chairwoman resigns
Sanyo Electric chairwoman Tomoyo Nonaka, one of Japan's highest-profile female executives, has tendered her resignation over the board's refusal to fully probe suspected window dressing of its figures, a report said yesterday. Nonaka, a former TV anchorwoman who also holds the role of chief executive, submitted her resignation after her calls for a full in-house investigation were rejected by the Sanyo board, the Nikkei Shimbun said. Sanyo said last month it would review its past earnings and might correct its unconsolidated results for the four financial years up to March 2004, after Japan's securities watchdog launched a probe.
■ Aviation
China to build large aircraft
China has approved a plan to build large passenger aircraft to compete with Boeing and Airbus, who together dominate the market, the government and state-run media said yesterday. The decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet presided by Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) after listening to details of a feasibility study on the project, the State Council said in a statement posted on the government's Web site. The plan is to "design and build airplanes that can carry more than 150 passengers and compete with Airbus and Boeing," the state-run China Daily said in a report.
■ Aviation
JAL tries to avoid strike
Officials from Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) were negotiating with representatives from pilots and other labor unions to avert a planned 24-hour strike over pay, airline officials said yesterday. The strike, slated for today, will not affect any international flights, Japan Airlines spokesman Atsushi Abe said. But 26 percent of JAL's domestic flights will be canceled, affecting 17,000 passengers, if the walkout goes ahead as planned, Abe said. JAL, based in Tokyo, is the country's largest airline. A group of four unions, including the JAL Flight Crew Union comprising 1,154 pilots and the JAL Cabin Crew Union with 1,828 workers, have jointly threatened to walk out the whole day today.
■ Aviation
Tiger sets up subsidiary
Tiger Airways has set up a subsidiary in Australia after getting regulatory approval, the Singapore-based budget carrier said yesterday. Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd was incorporated last Friday in the Northern Territory. Darwin, the territory's capital, was the airline's first Australian destination, the company said in a statement. The carrier, 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines, last month announced plans to expand into the Australian market by the end of the year, a move that would pit it against the likes of flag carrier Qantas and Virgin Blue.
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