■ AVIATION
Hong Kong airport busier
Hong Kong's international airport handled 5.7 percent more passengers last month than it did in the same month a year ago, with more passengers coming through from Europe and China, figures showed yesterday. Passenger traffic rose to 3.85 million from 3.64 million in June last year, the Airport Authority of Hong Kong said. Cargo volume also rose, increasing 5.3 percent to 305,000 tonnes from 289,774 tonnes for the month. Total aircraft movement for the month rose 5.6 percent from a year ago to 24,180 flights from 22,887. Passenger volume for the six months ended last month rose 6.4 percent from the same period a year ago to 22.7 million.
■ CONSTRUCTION
Investment in N Korea
North Korea's state news agency reported yesterday that an Egyptian company has agreed to invest in a cement complex in North Korea. Egypt's Orascom Construction Industries signed the joint venture agreement with Pyongyang Myongdang Trading Corp, the official Korean central news agency said. The purpose of the agreement is to establish a partnership "to modernize, renovate, upgrade and operate the Sangwon Cement Complex," the agency said. No financial terms of the agreement, apparently signed last week in North Korea, were disclosed. Orascom Construction is a cement manufacturer and construction contractor active in emerging markets in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
■ ELECTRONICS
Philips net profits rise
Royal Philips Electronics NV, a maker of medical and lighting equipment, said yesterday that net profit for the second quarter rose due to a large gain on the sale of a stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. Net profit was 1.57 billion euros (US$2.16 billion), up from 301 million euros a year earlier, while sales fell 4.4 percent to 6.10 billion euros from 6.38 billion euros. The company blamed the fall in sales on unfavorable exchange rates and said they would otherwise have been "on par" with a year earlier.
■ AUTOMOBILES
S Koreans stage protest
Workers at two South Korean auto companies staged labor stoppages yesterday in support of a pay claim, company officials said. GM Daewoo Auto and Technology's 9,915-member union launched a two-hour strike from mid-morning, spokesman Lee Jong-yong said, adding that night-shift workers would also put down tools for two hours. "The union plans to strike again Wednesday if it fails to reach agreement with management at negotiations tomorrow," he said. Workers want an increase of 128,805 won (US$140) in monthly basic salary and a special bonus.
■ AIRLINES
Iberia attracts more bidders
Air France and the investment fund Apax, allied with Spanish investors, are preparing a bid for Spanish carrier Iberia, the newspaper elEconomista reported yesterday. The paper, citing sources close to the matter, said the French-led alliance would unveil its offer by the end of the month, challenging an overture from the TPG investment fund and British Airways. It said the new bid would value Iberia at around 3.81 billion euros (US$5.2 billion). The preliminary TPG bid, announced in March and later joined by British Airways, is worth 3.4 billion euros.
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