■ELECTRONICS
Panasonic to build plant
Panasonic Corp said yesterday it planned to build a new factory at a cost of more than US$900 million to produce image sensors to meet growing demand for digital cameras and medical goods. Image sensors turn pictures into electrical form, making them a key component for cameras, scanners and other devices. Panasonic said it would build the new factory next to its existing plant for image sensors in central-western Toyama prefecture. The company will spend ¥94 billion (US$922 million) on the new 11,000m2 facility. It did not specify when it would be operational.
■FASHION
Aquascutum may be for sale
Japanese apparel company Renown Inc indicated yesterday it was open to selling Aquascutum, the London-based suit maker to the aristocracy, as it fails to turn a profit. Founded in 1851, Aquascutum boasts of dressing some of Britain’s most powerful names in politics and show business and has enjoyed royal warrants to sell outfits to Britain’s royal family. But the pricey label has failed to turn a profit for four straight years. Japanese news reports said that Renown was looking to sell the company, which it bought in 1990 in ill-fated hopes that it would become the Tokyo-based firm’s core operation. “We are engaged in a comprehensive consideration of the issue,” Renown said in a brief statement on the reports. “There is no decision yet on the matter.”
■INDIA
Tata finds new plant site
Tata Group has found a new home for its project to build the world’s cheapest car after violent protests forced it to abandon its factory in West Bengal, reports said yesterday. With numerous states around the country vying to host the plant, Tata has chosen a site near Ahmedabad, capital of Gujarat, television reports said, citing company officials. Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata was expected to announce the move at a press conference with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
■INTERNET
eBay to cut workforce
Internet giant eBay Inc, which has seen sluggish growth in its online auction business, announced on Monday it was cutting its global workforce by about 10 percent. In a statement released by its San Jose, California headquarters, eBay said it was cutting 1,000 permanent employees and several hundred temporary workers in a bid to streamline its organization. Separately, it announced it was purchasing online payment service Bill Me Later — a rival to its market-leading PayPal — for US$820 million in cash and US$125 million in employee options. In addition, it said it was acquiring Denmark’s leading online classifieds site Den Bla Avis and vehicles site BilBasen for US$390 million in cash.
■ELECTRONICS
Chartered unfazed by AMD
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd, which counted Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) as its second-largest customer last year, said it sees “minimal impact” from the US chipmaker’s plans to spin off its manufacturing plants. “The level of business that we’ve been doing with AMD isn’t on the same level as in 2007,” Lim Li Chuen, Chartered’s Singapore-based spokeswoman, said yesterday. “Whatever they’ve announced, it’s of minimal impact to our business, if any.” AMD said it plans to spin off its plants to form Foundry Co, which will make computer processors for AMD and seek contracts from other companies.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from