■ TOBACCO
Imperial buys Altadis
Imperial Tobacco Group Plc, Europe's second-biggest cigarette maker, agreed to buy Altadis SA for 12.8 billion euros (US$18 billion) to gain the Gauloises brand and Cuban cigars. Imperial will pay 50 euros a share, 29 percent more than Altadis' price the day before the British company made its first bid in March. The offer is worth 16.2 billion euros including debt, the companies said in a statement. Imperial will raise up to ?5.4 billion (US$11.1 billion) in a rights offering to pay for the purchase. Industry takeover activity has intensified since Japan Tobacco Inc agreed in December to pay ?7.5 billion for Gallaher Group Plc.
■ SUPERMARKETS
Delta approaches Sainsbury
J Sainsbury PLC, Britain's third-largest supermarket group, said yesterday it received a potential takeover approach from Delta Two Ltd, a Qatari investment group. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but the Financial Times reported that Delta Two's offer would value Sainsbury at US$24.5 billion. Delta Two announced on June 15 that it had raised its stake in the grocer to 25 percent. In April, Sainsbury fended off a private equity bid that valued the company at US$20 billion.
■ FINANCE
Thailand cuts key rate
The Bank of Thailand yesterday cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent amid growing pressure from the army-backed government to take some measures to curb the rising baht. It was the fifth consecutive rate cut this year and came amid government calls on the bank to tame the volatile baht, which has reached 10-year highs against the US dollar. Following the announcement, the baht was quoted at 33.45-46 to the US dollar, slightly down from Tuesday's close of 33.35-37. "The policy rate cut will help halt the baht's appreciation," Suchada Kirakul, an assistant central bank governor, told reporters.
■ MINING
Rio Tinto iron output soars
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto yesterday reported record iron ore output during the second quarter, up 15 percent on the same period a year ago. The company, which last week launched a US$38.1 billion takeover bid for Canada's Alcan, said the rise in iron ore production reflected expansion to meet consumer demand. The world's second-largest miner said mined copper production fell 10 percent in the quarter, while refined copper production was up 20 percent. It said a recovery in market conditions led to a 6 percent increase in hard coking coal production, despite problems with infrastructure on Australia's east coast.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique