■ OIL
Shell to sell two refineries
Royal Dutch Shell PLC has signed a letter of intent to sell two oil refineries in France to Petroplus Holdings AG for US$875 million, Shell said yesterday. The deal, to close next year, would also include an agreement for Shell to help Petroplus develop and sell specialty lubricants. Shell said the sale, if completed, "would be part of an ongoing strategic review of a number of Shell's refining and petrochemicals assets" and includes the Petit Couronne and Reichstett Vendenheim refineries. The two refineries have a combined capacity of 220,000 barrels per day.
■ ENERGY
KEPCO mulls US purchase
Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) is considering buying a power plant in the US as its president left yesterday to meet his counterparts at major power companies such as General Electric Co, Bechtel Corp and Westinghouse Electric Co, a media report said. KEPCO president Lee Won-gul was to depart yesterday for a six-day trip to the US, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an unnamed company spokesman. While in the US, Lee will sign an agreement next Tuesday to cooperate with GE unit GE Energy in power generation and distribution, the company said in a statement.
■ MINING
Inco to build nickel plants
Canadian nickel miner Inco Ltd's Indonesia unit plans to build two new nickel plants on Sulawesi island at a cost of US$2.5 billion, an Indonesia executive said yesterday. "We expect to start building the plants next year in an effort to increase our nickel output to 300 million pounds [136 million kilograms]by 2016," said Arif Siregar, chief executive of PT International Nickel Indonesia (PT Inco). The Indonesian company's nickel output this year is expected to be 75 million kilograms.
■ CONSUMER GOODS
Unilever posts rise in profits
Unilever, the maker of consumer products such as Axe deodorants, Dove soaps and Lipton teas, reported a 16 percent rise in net profit for the second quarter on Wednesday, mostly due to strong consumer demand. "The strongest performances have been in personal care, tea, and household cleaning products," Unilever NV/PLC said. The Dutch-British maker of Ben and Jerry's ice cream said ice cream, savory and laundry products "also contributed strongly" to growth. Net profit was 1.14 billion euros (US1.56 billion), up from 986 million euros, on sales of 10.5 billion euros, up 1.9 percent from 10.3 billion euros.
■ COMPUTERS
Lenovo regains No. 3 spot
Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No. 3 personal computer maker, said yesterday its latest quarterly profits rose 12-fold as the Beijing-based company tried to establish itself as a global brand. Profits were US$66.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, up from US$5.2 million in the year-earlier period, the company announced. "The group recorded strong growth in PC unit shipments in all the geographies," the company said in a statement. Shipments in the US and the rest of the Americas rose 15 percent following a turnaround by the previously struggling division in those markets, Lenovo said. Lenovo dropped to fourth place in worldwide PC shipments in the first quarter of the year behind Taiwanese rival Acer Inc. It recovered its No. 3 ranking in the latest quarter, with 8 percent of the market, according to research firm Gartner Inc.
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