■ INVESTMENT
Singapore backs park
Singapore said yesterday it would invest in a multibillion-dollar industrial park project in Malaysia, calling the venture's success a litmus test for cooperation between Southeast Asian countries as they compete with China and India. Singapore has assessed the Iskandar Development Region project in southern Malaysia and determined "it is fundamentally good for us if the project takes off and succeeds," Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said. Lee arrived on Monday on the island resort of Langkawi for talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
■ MERGERS
Reuters reaches agreement
Reuters Group PLC and Thomson Corp said yesterday they had agreed on terms for a merger to create one of the world's largest financial news providers. The cash and stock transaction values Reuters at £8.7 billion (US$17.2 billion). Holders of each Reuters share will be paid 352.5 pence (US$6.99) in cash and 0.16 Thomson-Reuters PLC shares. The value of the deal is calculated based on Thomson's closing share price of C$48.46 (US$43.79) on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 3, the day before the companies announced they were exploring a combination. Thomson would control about 70 percent of the shares in the new company, Thomson-Reuters PLC.
■ ENTERTAINMENT
Disney launching travel VOD
Some US cable TV customers will soon be able to book a trip to a Disney theme park with a click of their remote control. The Walt Disney Co later this month is launching an interactive video-on-demand travel channel on cable systems served by Time Warner Cable Inc and Cablevision System Corp, the companies said yesterday. The channel will include original programs, including reality shows, episodic programs, concerts and special events highlighting Disney's domestic theme parks in Florida and California as well as its adventure travel business. The shows, to be offered free, will reach more than 9 million people in the US.
■ BANKING
BoComm soars on listing
China's Bank of Communications (BoComm, 交通銀行) soared more than 71 percent on its A-share stock listing yesterday, untroubled by a 3.6 percent slump in the broader market as investors bought for quick gains. Dealers said the heavy losses may have been sparked by BoComm's listing as investors would likely have sold off other shares to be able to buy into China's fifth-largest bank. BoComm finished the day at 13.54 yuan (US$1.8), well above the initial public offering price of 7.90 yuan.
■ FRAUD
Former Oracle VP charged
The US' top markets watchdog said on Monday it had charged a former vice president of business software group Oracle, Christopher Balkenhol, with insider trading. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Balkenhol had agreed to pay US$198,000 to settle the case against him, including a civil penalty of nearly US$100,000. Investigators said Balkenhol had purchased stock in companies Oracle was targeting for takeover, including Retek Inc, and Siebel Systems Inc, before Oracle publicly announced it was acquiring the firms. Regulators said Balkenhol in 2005 pocketed US$15,000 in unlawful gains through his trade of Retek stocks.
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
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
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