■ IPO
Bank mulls Shanghai listing
China's securities regulator will this week review state lender China Construction Bank Corp's (中國建設銀行) plan to issue shares in Shanghai in what could be the country's biggest initial public offering so far. The bank's plan to issue up to 9 billion yuan-denominated shares will be reviewed on Friday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a notice yesterday on its Web site. The bank was the first of China's four big state banks to stage an IPO in Hong Kong, raising US$9.2 billion in October 2005. But it has lagged behind rivals Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (中國工商銀行) and the Bank of China in seeking a domestic share listing.
■ PIRACY
Sweden plans crackdown
Swedish Internet service providers could be required by law to cut off customers who share large amounts of copyright music and films online under a new proposal presented to the government on Monday. A report prepared by a government-appointed investigator said illegal file-sharing was "a significant obstacle" to the development of legal alternatives to download copyrighted material on the Internet. Internet providers should therefore be obliged to cancel services to customers found to engage in large-scale file-sharing -- or face fines, Justice Department investigator Cecilia Renfors said in the report.
■ ENERGY
Power Gas wins LNG plant
Singapore named local gas distributor Power Gas Ltd yesterday as builder and operator of the city-state's first liquefied natural gas plant in its latest step toward diversifying its energy supply sources. Power Gas, a subsidiary of Singapore Power, will build and operate the facility on Jurong Island, Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran told an industry conference. The facility, which will include a receiving terminal and re-gasification unit, will be ready in 2012, Iswaran said. Supplies are to be sourced from one party by the Energy Market Authority, he said, although he did not name the LNG source.
■ BEVERAGES
Nestle to buy Henniez
Nestle SA, the world's largest water bottler, plans to buy Sources Minerales Henniez SA for 155 million Swiss francs (US$128 million) to control almost a quarter of the local market. Nestle agreed to buy the Rouge family's 61.7 percent stake in Henniez for 3,000 francs a share, a statement released yesterday by the bottler of Perrier water shows. It will bid 5,303 francs for each of the remaining shares on the open market. The Swiss drink 127 liters of bottled water each annually, and the market is expanding by 1 percent to 2 percent a year, more than the European average, Nestle said. Its Swiss water unit will triple sales by purchasing Henniez.
■ FOOD
Soy sauce ice cream a hit
Soy sauce is such a staple of the Japanese diet that now it's even being put on ice cream. A Japanese company has made a surprise hit by creating a special blend for ice cream -- said to taste a bit like caramel. Yamakawa Jozo, established in 1943 and based in the central city of Gifu, said it has sold nearly 6,000 bottles of the soy sauce for ice cream since January, with daily orders picking up to between 70 and 80 a day. The special sauce is brewed more than eight years in wooden barrels blended with sweet rice wine and starch syrup. The 70-millilitre bottle is priced at ?350 yen (US$3).
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
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
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