■ ALCOHOL
China takes wine seriously
Wine tasting has become an official profession in China to help meet surging demand in the increasingly prosperous country, state media reported yesterday. Wine tasting is one of 10 new jobs, ranging from color design consultant to nuts chef, added to the list of officially recognized occupations, the Xinhua news agency said. Being on the list drawn up by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security means official help in standardizing the training market, the agency said. More than 80 percent of the country's 15,600 wine companies have complained of a shortage of tasters.
■ FINANCE
IMF alternative launches
Seven presidents were to meet late yesterday in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to launch the Bank of the South, intended as an alternative to the IMF and the World Bank. The foundation principles of the Bank of the South -- an initiative of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez -- were agreed on early last month in Brazil by the finance ministers of the countries involved. The Bank of the South is set to have its headquarters in Venezuela, with further offices in Argentina and Bolivia. It is scheduled to be operational early next year, with an estimated initial capital of US$7 billion.
■ GEMSTONES
Diamond attracts major bid
A 6.5-carat blue diamond went for US$3.56 million, more than three times its estimated value, at auction in France on Saturday, the auction house said in a statement. An international company specialized in buying precious stones placed the winning bid by telephone, according to the Guizzetti-Collet auction house. The "blue intense homogeneous" diamond with "extraordinary" coloration, came from a ring "bought in 1962 by the owners of a champagne house on the occasion of promoting a special vintage," the auction house said.
■ OIL
Exporters may see shortage
Some of the leading oil-exporting countries may start importing oil 10 years from now in order to satisfy the needs of their own booming economies, The New York Times reported on its Web site late on Saturday. Citing experts and industry projection, the newspaper said this change of roles had occurred in Indonesia, while Mexico could start importing oil within five years. According to the paper, these two countries could be followed by Iran. "It is a very serious threat that a lot of major exporters that we count on today for international oil supply are no longer going to be net exporters any more in five to 10 years," the report quotes Amy Myers Jaffe, an oil analyst at Rice University, as saying.
■ STOCK EXCHANGES
Bursa considering tie-up
Bursa Malaysia Bhd said it is in negotiations with overseas stock exchanges on potential tie-ups, declining to confirm a newspaper report that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange may buy a stake in the firm. "We have always been exploring potential collaborations," said Karina Bahrin, a spokeswoman for Bursa. The Star newspaper reported on Saturday that Chicago Mercantile may buy a 10 percent stake in Bursa, Malaysia's stock exchange operator. Shares of stock exchanges have benefited as some fund managers predict Asia will soon outpace the rest of the world economically.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
UNWAVERING: Paraguay remains steadfast in its support of Taiwan, but is facing growing pressure at home and abroad to switch recognition to Beijing, Pena said Paraguayan President Santiago Pena has pledged to continue enhancing cooperation with Taiwan, as he and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait using force, Japanese media reported on Saturday. Kishida yesterday completed a trip to France, Brazil and Paraguay, his first visit to South America since taking office in 2021. After the Japanese leader and Pena spoke for more than an hour on Friday, exchanging views on the situation in East Asia in the face of China’s increasing military pressure on Taiwan, they affirmed that “unilateral attempts to change the