■ CONSTRUCTION
Hyundai inks Libyan deal
Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co, South Korea's biggest builder by market value, said it signed a US$713.5 million contract with General Electricity Company of Libya to build a thermal power plant. Construction of the Al Khallj facility, 20km west of Sirte city, will take 52 months, Seoul-based Hyundai Engineering said in a regulatory filing yesterday. Hyundai Engineering first announced the order in October. South Korean contractors, including Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction Co and Hyundai Engineering, won a record US$39.8 billion in overseas orders last year as countries in the Middle East invested more in new refineries and power plants to benefit from surging oil prices and economic growth.
■ REAL ESTATE
Brixton invests at Heathrow
Brixton Plc, the UK's largest industrial landlord, said it bought five warehouses at Heathrow airport outside London for £71.6 million (US$142.3 million). It bought two units at Heathrow Gateway with a total space of 33,000m2 from an unidentified buyer for £63.75 million, the London-based company said yesterday in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service. It also bought three warehouses from funds run by Clerical Medical Investment Group Ltd for £7.85 million.
■ MACROECONOMICS
India's trade deficit rises
India's trade deficit increased by nearly US$2 billion in November from a year ago despite a surge in exports, official figures showed yesterday. The deficit for November was US$7.4 billion, compared with US$5.5 billion in the same month a year before, the data showed. Exports grew 26.8 percent to US$12.4 billion in November even though the rupee has strengthened significantly over the last year. Imports rose 29.2 percent to US$19.8 billion. Oil imports rose 16.7 percent from a year ago to US$5.8 billion. Non-oil imports rose 35.3 percent to US$14 billion.
■ INVESTMENT
Billionaire borrows less
T. Ananda Krishnan, Malaysia's second-richest man, is borrowing US$1.2 billion to help fund the buyout of Maxis Communications Bhd, 20 percent less than the maximum sought, said Lim Ghee Keong, group treasurer of an investment company controlled by the billionaire. Binariang GSM Sdn, Krishnan's special-purpose company, decided not to exercise an option to increase the loan to US$1.5 billion after getting enough funds from a 12 billion ringgit (US$3.6 billion) bond sale last month, Lim, the group treasurer of Usaha Tegas Sdn, said yesterday.
■ POLLUTION
German cities ban dirty cars
Three German cities began implementing a new air pollution system on Tuesday that bans the dirtiest vehicles from their centers. Drivers in Berlin, Cologne and Hanover are now required to display a colored badge showing the level of pollution caused by their vehicle, with a scale of red, yellow and green. Some vehicles, notably an estimated 1.7 million old diesel cars and vans, will not qualify for even the most polluting red badge and will be prohibited from driving in central areas. Drivers without a badge caught in the city center will face a 40 euro (US$60) fine and will be docked a point on their driving license. The system is to be extended to about 20 German cities in the course of the year, including Stuttgart and Munich.
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