■ BANKING
Shinsei set to buy GE unit
Japan’s Shinsei Bank said yesterday it had agreed to buy US giant General Electric’s Japanese consumer finance arm for ¥580 billion (US$5.4 billion) in a major push into the troubled sector. Shinsei, a mid-sized lender that is about one-third owned by US buyout firm JC Flowers & Co, said it would pay in cash for GE Consumer Finance Co’s loan, credit card and mortgage business in Japan. The planned purchase, which was also confirmed by GE, is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
■ PHARMACEUTICALS
Sanofi-Aventis eyes Zentiva
French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis yesterday launched a bid worth 1.655 billion euros (US$2.6 billion) for the 74.12 percent of Czech company Zentiva it does not already own. The offer is based on a price of 1.05 koruna (US$0.07) per share, which Sanofi-Aventis said represented a premium of 14.6 percent over the closing price on April 30.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Toyota to build Prius in US
Japanese auto giant Toyota said on Thursday that it plans to start assembling its fuel-sipping Prius hybrid car in the US with production slated to begin in late 2010. Toyota announced plans to start US production of its gasoline and electric powered hybrid car as rival US auto firms like General Motors, Ford and Chrysler suffer sharp sales declines for gas-guzzling trucks, pickups and sport utility vehicles.
■ STEEL
Sinosteel controls Midwest
China’s Sinosteel Corp (中國中鋼) yesterday succeeded in its seven-month pursuit of Australian iron ore miner Midwest, with stock exchange documents showing it had a majority stake in the target company. In what is believed to be the largest takeover of an Australian firm by a Chinese state-owned entity, Midwest reported to the Australian Securities Exchange that Sinosteel’s stake in the company had risen to 50.97 percent. The A$1.36 billion (US$1.31 billion) takeover has raised questions in Australia about state-controlled Chinese firms buying mining firms so they can directly control the resources needed for the country’s industrial expansion.
■ INVESTMENT
ArcelorMittal unveils funds
ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, started investment funds to invest in clean technology and the carbon market. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker’s clean technology venture capital fund will invest US$20 million in US solar panel developer Miasole, ArcelorMittal said yesterday in an e-mailed press release. ArcelorMittal’s carbon fund has an initial investment commitment of 100 million euros, the steelmaker said.
■ TELECOMS
NSN clinches China deal
The Finnish telecom group Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said yesterday it had won a network expansion deal for 550 million euros with China Mobile Communications Corp (中國移動). NSN will design, build, maintain and optimize the radio and core network for China Mobile, including base station, mobile softswitching and operating support systems in provinces and cities across China. “This agreement represents the strengthening of our position as a leading solution provider to China Mobile,” Zhang Zhiqiang (張志強), the head of Nokia Siemens Networks Greater China Region, said in a statement.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique