■ ELECTRONICS
Toshiba in chip sales boost
Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp plans to boost the value of its chip sales by two-thirds by the financial year ending March 2011, it said yesterday. The company aims to raise its chip sales to ¥2 trillion (US$16.2 billion) from sales of ¥1.2 trillion last fiscal year by selling more NAND flash memory chips, a Toshiba spokesman said. Demand for the NAND chips, used in cell phones, personal computers, digital cameras and MP3 players, is growing. Toshiba said, to help it achieve the ¥2 trillion sales target, it would raise its monthly capacity at its NAND chip plant in Yokkaichi, Mie prefecture, to 150,000 300mm wafers by September.
■ BANKING
HSBC raises Vietnam stake
Global banking giant HSBC said it has received approval from the State Bank of Vietnam to increase its stake in a Vietnamese bank in a deal worth US$33.7 million. HSBC has raised its shareholding in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Techcombank) to 15 percent from 10 percent. The deal came after Vietnam passed a decree in April to allow foreign banks to own 15 percent of a domestic commercial bank, which may be increased further to 20 percent after approval from the government.
■ MARKETS
Sensex predicted to soar
India's Sensex will reach 16,000 this year, the upper end of a projected range, as earnings climb and concerns about rising interest and inflation rates ease, Citigroup Inc said. The brokerage estimated the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-stock Sensitive Index, or Sensex, would trade between 14,700 and 16,000 points by December. The index rose to an intraday record of 15,075.30 yesterday, surpassing the high set on Friday. Citigroup expects the index to trade between 17,500 and 18,400 points by December next year, the brokerage said.
■ FOREX
Plan to cut Thai rate gap
The Bank of Thailand will allow overseas investors to renew their baht swap contracts with domestic banks as part of an attempt to reduce the gap in the currency's exchange rate in offshore and onshore markets. Overseas investors can buy the swap contracts to cover the exchange rate risk of their investments if those assets were bought before the imposition of capital controls in December, Suchart Sakkankosone, the bank's exchange control director, said yesterday.
■ TELECOMS
Vodafone opens Hanoi office
Vodafone Group PLC, the world's largest mobile phone company, opened an office in Hanoi last month as it seeks opportunities ahead of the possible sale of Vietnamese government-owned wireless operators. "We set up an office in Hanoi last month to monitor the situation," said Ben Padovan, a spokesman for the Newbury, England-based Vodafone. Vietnam has "growth" opportunities in the wireless market. Under chief executive Arun Sarin, Vodafone has focused on acquisitions and partnerships in emerging markets. The company completed its purchase of a controlling stake in India's Hutchison Essar Ltd in May for US$10.7 billion. Growth in western Europe has slowed as most people there now have mobile phones. "Ahead of the anticipated equitization of local GSM mobile network operators, Vodafone has opened a representative office in Vietnam to learn more about the market," Padovan said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from