■ BANKING
Northern Rock in talks
Stricken British mortgage lender Northern Rock said yesterday that it was in preliminary talks with a number of potential buyers or investors, but did not name the interested parties. "Northern Rock confirms that it is working with a number of potentially interested parties regarding proposals for a variety of potential transactions as well as developing further options to explore with new parties as part of its review of all strategic options," the bank said. "Northern Rock notes that this process and the discussions it is having are at a very early stage and that the proposals it has received so far are preliminary in nature."
■ ENERGY
CNOOC pushes Bohai Bay
CNOOC Ltd is aiming to make Bohai Bay in northern China the country's second-largest oil field by production within five years, company officials said. The offshore hub, which had output of 98.1 million barrels of oil equivalent last year, must double production if it is to overtake the Shengli oil field in eastern China, said Chen Bi, vice president of CNOOC and general manager of the Tianjin unit. The jump in output at Bohai would be achieved via a combination of new oil fields coming on stream, notably the Peng Lai field from next year, and enhanced output techniques. CNOOC expects volumes to rise to 99 million barrels of oil equivalent this year before the pace of growth accelerates.
■ AVIATION
Airbus plant attracts interest
Potential buyers are visiting an Airbus plant in Laupheim, Germany, and the European plane maker should decide this year which will get the site, a press report said yesterday. The Financial Times Deutschland cited industry sources as saying 14 German and foreign firms had expressed interest in the facility, which produces cabin equipment. Diehl, one of the German suitors, told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Saturday that it was in the running, but boss Herbert Wust added that Airbus had "raised its demands" and that the discussions were difficult. Airbus seeks to sell seven European plants as part of its cost-cutting plan Power8, including three in Germany.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Daimler ready for India
Daimler plans to expand its commercial division to India and Russia, the Financial Times Deutschland reported yesterday, citing Andreas Renschler, a board member of the German automaker. Daimler had picked a partner for its market entry in India after months of talks, the newspaper cited Renschler as saying. "We are currently still negotiating contract clauses and will release details shortly," he said. He also said Daimler planned to build a Mercedes truck in Russia. "We are discussing building a factory for truck assembly," he said. "We will make a final decision by the end of this year."
■ ENERGY
Gaz, Suez outline goals
The to-be-merged energy group of Gaz de France and Suez expects to invest 10 billion euros (US$14.2 billion) a year between next year and 2010, and see its operating profit grow by 10 percent next year, to 17 billion euros by 2010. In a joint statement, the two groups, which aim to merge in the first half of next year, said they also expect growth in dividend per share of 10 percent to 15 percent a year on average between this year and 2010. On Sept. 3, Suez and GDF announced their merger into the world's fourth-biggest energy utility.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary