■ Markets
First Chinese IPO in Japan
Asia Media Co (亞洲互動傳媒), a Beijing-based provider of TV program guides, will next month become the first company from China to launch an initial public offering in Japan, officials said yesterday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange approved the company to list its shares on the so-called Mothers market for emerging companies on Thursday and the shares will debut on April 26, according to exchange spokesman Satoshi Futaki. Asia Media plans to make an initial public offering of 4.7 million new shares, another exchange spokesman Toru Onoda said. The company is not listed in China or any other market, he said.
■ Energy
Judge charges Total CEO
An investigating judge filed preliminary charges on Thursday against the chief executive of Total SA in a corruption case linked to a 1997 contract with Iran, judicial officials and Total said. Preliminary charges were filed against Total chief executive Christophe de Margerie for abuse of company assets and corruption of foreign agents in connection with the case in which bribes are suspected, the officials said. In a statement, Total confirmed that preliminary charges were filed against its chief executive concerning an investigation "related to the development of the South Pars project in Iran."
■ Telecoms
Palm profits plummet
Palm Inc reported a 61 percent drop in its third-quarter profits on Thursday as speculation of a buyout continued to swirl. For the three months ended March 2, the Sunnyvale-based maker of Treo smart phones said it earned US$11.8 million, or US$0.11 per share, on revenue of US$410.5 million. Excluding stock-based compensation and other one-time items, Palm said it would have earned US$16.5 million, or US$0.16 per share, compared with US$19.8 million, or US$0.19 per share, in the year-ago period. On that basis, analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of US$0.12 per share on sales of US$403.6 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
■ Airlines
Qantas bid suffers setback
A private equity group said its A$11.1 billion (US$8.9 billion) takeover bid for Australian airline Qantas suffered a setback yesterday when a key shareholder rejected the offer. Airline Partners Australia (APA) needs at least 90 percent of shareholders to accept its offer of A$5.45 a share. But Balance Equity Management, which holds a 4 percent stake in the airline, said it did not intend to accept the bid due to the strong conditions in the domestic share market, the consortium said. Balanced Equity said equity markets had appreciated significantly since the announcement of the bid.
■ Insurance
State Farm suit rejected
A federal judge on Thursday refused to allow a class action against State Farm Insurance Cos over the insurer's denial of claims by customers on Mississippi's Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. State Farm policyholder Judy Guice had asked the judge to permit her to join other policyholders whose homes were reduced to slabs by the August 2005 storm in a class action against the insurer. But the judge, who heard testimony on the proposal during a Feb. 28 hearing, ruled on Thursday that a class action for "slab cases" is "inconsistent with the requirements of due process."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft