■ INVESTMENT
Canada to mull tie-up rules
Canada said on Thursday it was creating a panel to review government rules on foreign takeovers, amid a flurry of bids for Canadian companies. The Competition Policy Review Panel will review two key competition and investment policies, as well as the treatment of state-owned enterprises and the possibility of adding a clause to nix tie-ups deemed a threat to national security. The aim is to encourage greater foreign investment and create more and better jobs for Canadians, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier said in a statement.
■ AUTOMAKERS
Mustangs get soybean seats
Ford Motor Co will put soybean-based foam cushions in the seats of the 2008 Mustang in a move that could spread to other Ford vehicles and eventually save thousands of barrels of oil in the manufacturing process, the company said on Thursday. Ford is teaming with seat supplier Lear Corp to install the seats at a joint Mazda-Ford factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, the company said. Most automakers today use petroleum-based foam, with an average of 13.5kg going into each vehicle, Ford said. The annual worldwide market for automotive foam is 4 billion kilograms.
■ OIL
Product demand to rise: IEA
The International Energy Agency (IEA) yesterday said it expected world oil product demand to rise 2.5 percent next year and slightly revised downward its demand forecast for this year. "Global oil product demand is expected to rise by a robust 2.5 percent to 88.2 million barrels per day in 2008, largely due to a weather-related rebound in the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] and strong demand in non-OECD countries," it said in its monthly oil market report. "This represents an increase of 2.2 million bpd [barrels per day], from the slightly revised [-0.1 million bpd] 2007 level of 86.0 million bpd," it said.
■ STEEL
ArcelorMittal signs pact
Japan's Nippon Steel Corp said yesterday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Europe's ArcelorMittal to form a global alliance with the world's largest steelmaker and to expand upon existing joint ventures in North America. Japan's biggest steelmaker said in a statement on its Web site that the two companies are studying expansion of their automotive sheet steel business in North America. Also, the previous alliance between Nippon Steel and Arcelor will be replaced with an alliance between Nippon and ArcelorMittal. Nippon Steel is also considering expanding joint ventures with ArcelorMittal in China, a company spokesman said.
■ TELECOMS
NextWave to enter Japan
US telecom firm NextWave Wireless is set to become the second foreign company to enter Japan's crowded mobile telephone business after agreeing to buy a controlling stake in IP Mobile. NextWave will acquire a 69.23 percent stake in IP Mobile -- which was awarded a cellphone operating licence in November 2005 -- from Japanese real estate group Mori Trust Co, IP Mobile said yesterday. The value of the deal was not been disclosed. NextWave is a supplier of wireless broadband products, technologies, and network solutions including the TD-CDMA mobile broadband technology.
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