■ Energy
Oil prices close mixed
Oil prices were mixed in volatile Asian trade yesterday after Iran freed 15 captured British sailors on Wednesday, easing fears a diplomatic row could escalate and disrupt crude supplies, dealers said. This news, however, was offset by disappointing energy inventory data from the US, the world's biggest energy consumer, they added. At 3pm, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery next month, was down US$0.01 to US$64.37 a barrel from US$64.38 in late US trades. The weekly report by the US Department of Energy showed gasoline reserves fell by 5 million barrels to 205.2 million barrels last week, against a forecast drawdown of 300,000 barrels.
■ LCD TV
Matsushita sets up KL plant
Japan's Matsushita Industrial Co, which makes Panasonic brand products, has begun making liquid-crystal-display (LCD) TVs in Malaysia to meet growing worldwide demand, officials said yesterday. It will be the group's first facility in Asia to make LCD sets, officials said. Initial production is aimed at 30,000 units for the domestic market and 20,000 units for export to Singapore this year. The company would also supply parts for assembly plants in other countries.
■ Software
Microsoft told to share info
The European Commission will force Microsoft Corp to hand over what the US software giant claims is sensitive and valuable technical information about its Windows operating system for almost no compensation, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a confidential document. Microsoft is required to license the technical information to competing groups under the terms of the commission's antitrust ruling issued three years ago, the FT said. The commission last month accused Microsoft of demanding excessive royalties from licenses.
■ Gaming
Nintendo raises estimates
Nintendo Co said yesterday that group sales for the business year that ended in March would likely reach ¥966 billion (US$8.14 billion) thanks to the popularity of its Nintendo DS handheld game console. The Kyoto-based game maker, which earlier projected group sales of ¥900 billion, said in a statement that it also expected profit to exceed its forecast. The company also said it now expects a foreign exchange profit of about ¥20 billion, as opposed to its forecast of a loss of ¥10 billion.
■ Telecoms
Vodafone clarifies purchase
British telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile phone company by sales, said yesterday it was buying only 52 percent of Indian mobile operator Hutchison Essar but would have an "economic interest" in 67 percent as it insisted that the US$11.1 billion deal meet Indian foreign investment rules. "We have been maintaining that we have effective 52 percent control," said Vodafone spokesman V.K. Cherian, adding that the company had options to purchase the remaining 15 percent. "We are absolutely confident that the deal will receive approval," Cherian said. His statement came as the law ministry was reported to have advised further scrutiny of the deal to see whether the shareholding structure meets Indian regulations allowing foreign direct investment of up to 74 percent in a domestic telecom firm.
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