■ RETAIL
Carrefour in Indonesia deal
Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, agreed to take control of PT Alfa Retailindo for 674 billion rupiah (US$72 million) to bulk up in Indonesia. Alfa Retailindo has 29 stores across the country, 13 of which are in Jakarta, Paris-based Carrefour said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. It's buying a 75 percent stake in the Indonesian company.
■ TELECOMS
DoCoMo cancels alliance
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile-phone company, canceled a wireless service alliance agreement with Acca Networks Co after rival companies won a license. DoCoMo and Acca in August formed a venture to provide high speed wireless services and have sought to acquire a broadband wireless access license. Japan's communications ministry last month awarded a license to KDDI Corp and Willcom Inc. DoCoMo announced the cancelation in a release distributed through the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
■ BANKINGbr />
WestLB planning job cuts
Troubled state-owned German bank WestLB is planning to cut 2,000 jobs, the regional Rheinische Post newspaper reported yesterday. The newspaper said the bank would cut 1,000 jobs in Germany and as many abroad. Several German newspapers have reported in recent days that WestLB needed to raise 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros (US$2.2 billion to US$2.9 billion) in fresh capital to cover huge writedowns on bad investments. The bank has been hit hard by the US subprime home loan crisis as well as dubious stock market investments by its staff. The Rheinische Post cited sources among WestLB shareholders as saying the bank would post a loss for last year of over 1 billion euros.
■ HEALTHCARE
Optical giant eyes eyeonics
Bausch & Lomb announced Sunday that the eye health company plans to acquire eyeonics, a privately held California company that makes a special lens used in cataract repair. Bausch & Lomb did not disclose financial terms. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. Once acquired, eyeonics will be wrapped into Bausch & Lomb's surgical business, the company said. The US surgical business will be led by J. Andy Corley, eyeonics' co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer, it said. Eyeonics, founded in 1998, developed and markets the crystalens intraocular lens, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cataracts. The intraocular lens replaces the eye's natural lens and has been implanted in more than 95,000 eyes worldwide. Last year, eyeonics generated revenues of approximately US$34 million.
■ AVIATION
Branson eyes Indian market
Richard Branson, who controls UK carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, has sought permission to start a domestic airline in India. Branson hopes the Indian government will change its rules on allowing foreigners to run local services, he told reporters in New Delhi yesterday, without elaborating. India's air passenger travel is expanding at about 25 percent a year as economic growth and higher disposable incomes enable more people to fly. India doesn't allow overseas airlines to hold stakes in local carriers directly or indirectly.
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