■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Hynix's Q3 profits fall 57%
Hynix Semiconductor failed to meet expectations yesterday, posting a 57 percent slump in quarterly net profits amid falling chip prices due to product gluts and higher debt costs. Net profit fell to 170 billion won (US$185 million) in the third quarter to September from a year earlier, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker said, despite an overall increase in sales. "The market was tough. The third-quarter results were not up to market expectations and our own target," Hynix vice president James Kim said in a conference call with analysts and investors. Sales increased 24 percent year-on-year to 2.44 trillion won during the period thanks to strong seasonal demand, but operating profit fell 44 percent to 254 billion won, it said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Honda may trim forecast
Honda may trim its Japan sales forecast for this year, a company executive said yesterday, the latest sign of a stagnant home market for the world's most profitable automakers. Honda Motor Co vice president Koichi Kondo told reporters it was "likely" the forecast for Japan sales will be reduced from the current projection for 660,000 vehicles -- which already represents a 1.8 percent drop from the previous year. Last week, Toyota Motor Corp lowered its Japan sales forecast for this year, while maintaining its overall global sales target. Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said that overseas sales, including regions such as the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Russia, will make up for the expected drop in Japan sales.
■ CHINA
Union push will continue
China promised yesterday no let-up in its drive to force foreign-invested enterprises to create state-controlled unions and said it would not be deterred by reluctant company bosses. Sun Chunlan, a vice-chairwoman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, said the group's target was to have branches in 70 percent of foreign enterprises by next autumn, more than double last year's rate. "Some foreign-invested enterprises still lack understanding and knowledge of China's trade unions and they don't want to unionize," Sun told reporters on the sidelines of the Chinese Communist Party's National Congress. "But investing companies must respect the laws of the countries they are investing in. Our country's clear regulations state that workers have the right, according to law, to enter the union," she said.
■ FOOD
Raw materials cost Nestle
The Swiss food group Nestle said yesterday that growing raw material costs were having an impact on its growth, as it posted a 9 percent increase in sales over the first nine months of the year. Nestle said that "input cost pressures were increasing over the second half of the year" and having a "dampening effect" on real internal growth. Its sales over the first nine months of the year reached 78.7 billion Swiss francs (US$467 billion), exceeding analysts' expectations. It did not release third quarter data.
■ DEFENSE
Eurocopter, KAI ink deal
Eurocopter, part of EADS, said yesterday it had signed a deal in Seoul to create a joint venture firm with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to sell South Korea's new military helicopter. Eurocopter said in a statement that it would own 49 percent of the venture, while KAI would control the remaining 51 percent.
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