■ ENERGY
Korean firm eyes PRC coal
State-run Korea Electric Power Corp, or Kepco, said yesterday it would take a 34 percent stake in a US$1.34 billion Chinese joint venture that will develop coal mines and buy and build power plants over the next five decades. Kepco, will "acquire 15 power plants, build nine power plants and develop nine coal mines in Shanxi, China," as part of the joint venture, the South Korean utility said. The 24 power plants will have a combined capacity of 9.33 million kilowatts and the nine coal mines are expected to produce 60 million tonnes of coal a year.
■ AVIATION
Alitalia interests KLM
Air France-KLM said yesterday it has declared an interest in acquiring loss-making Italian airline Alitalia, but insisted its "letter of interest" was not legally binding. The carrier gave no details on how much it was prepared to bid for Alitalia, which is 49.9 percent owned by the Italian government and reportedly losing around US$1.5 million a day. The government of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi had given yesterday as a deadline for any offers before choosing one by the end of the year and entering into exclusive negotiations. Other possible bidders are thought to include Germany's Lufthansa and Italy's Air One.
■ FINANCE
Indonesia cuts rates
Indonesia's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 8 percent yesterday, saying its inflation target was on track and risks stemming from high oil prices were under control. "It is expected that the rate cut will not disturb inflation targets in the medium to the longer term," Lukman Boenjamin, Bank Indonesia's director for public relations, told reporters. The bank hoped the cut would help spur higher economic growth, the official said. Over the past four monthly policy meetings, the central bank had kept its key rate steady.
■ ENERGY
China to subsidize refiners
China will give subsidies to oil refiners to offset the gap between high crude oil prices abroad and controlled domestic fuel prices, state media said on Wednesday. The companies will receive rebates and will be exempt from paying oil import duties, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the National Development and Reform Commission. The report gave no dollar figure for the subsidies. Last month, the government raised retail prices for gasoline and diesel by almost 10 percent. It also ordered the country's two biggest refiners, PetroChina and rival Sinopec, to produce more fuel. But refineries are still facing huge losses, and some have halted or reduced their production.
■ PHARMACEUTICALS
Japan plugs generics
Japan plans to offer incentives to pharmacists who dispense generic drugs, aiming to cut snowballing medical costs, an official said yesterday. Japan is one of the largest drug markets in the world. The health ministry "has decided on a plan reviewing the whole medical service fee system for the next fiscal year" starting in April, the official said on customary condition of anonymity. Under the plan, pharmacists would receive preferential renumeration through Japan's national health program if 30 percent or more of the drugs they dispense are generics, the official said.
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
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
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
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