■ TRADE
Kimchi spat over
South Korea and China have resumed normal kimchi trade, state media said yesterday, two years after Seoul kicked up a stink about the quality of the Chinese version. South Korea launched an investigation into Chinese-made kimchi after the discovery of parasite eggs in October 2005. In response, China banned several imports of Korean food and started an investigation into Korean cosmetics. South Korea agreed to cut down random sampling of Chinese kimchi from 100 percent to 20 percent in August and this week cut the sampling to the regular 10 percent, Xinhua news agency said.
■ BANKING
Blair gets part-time job
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is to join Wall Street bank JP Morgan as a part-time adviser, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Blair, who became international envoy to the Middle East after standing down following a decade as prime minster in June, will advise the financial services giant on political and strategic issues. He told the paper he now expected to take on "a small handful" of similar appointments, adding: "Nowadays, the intersection between politics and the economy in different parts of the world, including the emerging markets, is very strong." JP Morgan's chief executive Jamie Dimon said that Blair would be "enormously valuable" to the firm.
■ BANKING
Credit Suisse eyes China
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse confirmed yesterday it planned to form a strategic alliance with China's Founder Group (方正集團) to focus on securities underwriting and wealth management. It also said that it intended to apply soon to form a joint venture with Founder Group's Founder Securities, adding that it hoped to hold the regulatory maximum of 33.3 percent in the firm. "I am confident that Credit Suisse's world leading franchise and Founder's local capabilities can combine to create an unrivaled alliance," Credit Suisse Investment Bank chief executive officer Paul Calello said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Toyota global sales up
Toyota said yesterday that its global group sales rose 6 percent last year to 9.37 million vehicles, making for a tight race against General Motors, the world's biggest automaker. Toyota Motor Corp's group companies sold 7.1 million vehicles overseas last year, a 10 percent jump from the previous year, offsetting a 4 percent decline in sales in Japan at 2.26 million vehicles, the automaker said in a statement. GM has not yet given its annual sales tally but earlier estimated last year sales would come to 9.3 million vehicles.
■ JAPAN
Economic growth slower
The pace of Japan's economic growth is slowing because of a big drop in housing investment and the slowdown is likely to persist for some time, a senior central bank official said in a speech yesterday. "The nation's economic cycle is weakening now but the cycle itself remains intact," said Toshiro Muto, one of the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) two deputy governors. "However, looking ahead, the economy will keep expanding," he told business leaders in Sapporo. Muto's remarks echoed the bearish economic assessment made by BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui last month after the bank's policy body voted unanimously to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 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
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned