■ ELECTRONICS
Sony posts record profit
Japan's Sony Corp said yesterday that its third-quarter net profit jumped 25 percent to a record high, helped by the flotation of its financial arm and reduced losses from the PlayStation 3. Sony said its game unit had finally swung back into the black after it introduced a cheaper version of the video game console in response to fierce competition from rival Nintendo Co. Net profit rose 25.2 percent to ¥200.2 billion (US$1.88 billion) in the last three months of last year, a company statement said. Sony also revised its full-year outlook, predicting a 169 percent rise in net income to ¥340 billion, up from a previous forecast of ¥330 billion.
■ ELECTRONICS
Matsushita's profit up 46%
Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co said yesterday its profit climbed 46 percent in the last quarter of last year on strong sales of appliances and digital audiovisual products. Matsushita's net income rose to ¥115.2 billion (US$1.08 billion) from ¥78.7 billion in the same period the previous year, the maker of Panasonic brand products said in a release. Quarterly sales fell 4 percent to ¥2.34 trillion from ¥2.44 trillion a year earlier, the Osaka-based manufacturer said. Matsushita left unchanged its forecast for the fiscal year ending March next year at ¥246 billion profit on sales of ¥8.780 trillion.
■ AVIATION
New Beijing airport planned
China's aviation regulator has recommended building a second Beijing airport by 2015 to cope with surging travel, news reports said yesterday. The proposal comes as the Chinese capital's current airport prepares to open a new terminal next month that will double its size ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. Regulators have formally recommended building the new airport and are trying to pick a site, Xinhua news agency and newspapers said, citing Yang Guoqing (楊國慶), deputy minister of the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China. The existing Beijing airport, which says it is one of the world's 10 busiest, has expanded repeatedly in recent years in response to fast-growing traffic.
■ OIL
Shell's net profit soars
Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday that net profits leapt 23 percent last year to a record US$31.33 billion, energized by soaring crude prices. Net profit on a current cost of supply basis, excluding fluctuations in the value of inventories, rose 9 percent to US$27.56 billion last year, compared with the figure for 2006. The record-breaking figures were recorded last year as oil prices raced towards US$100 per barrel. In the fourth quarter alone, net profit rocketed 60 percent to US$8.47 billion, compared with the same period of 2006, Shell said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Samsung told to pay up
A court yesterday ruled in favor of creditors of Samsung's failed automaking unit, which had sued the group for US$4.5 billion in South Korea's biggest civil lawsuit. The Seoul Central District Court ordered Samsung subsidiaries to sell shares given to creditors in 1999 in lieu of Samsung Motor's huge debts. But it reduced the repayment claimed by the creditors. It ruled that Samsung should sell 2.3 million shares rather than 3.5 million, because key creditor Seoul Guarantee Insurance had already sold the margin to others.
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