■ AUSTRALIA
All deposits guaranteed
The government will guarantee all deposits in domestic banks as the financial crisis enters a dangerous new phase and threatens growth, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday. “We are talking about all deposits, let’s be clear about that,” Rudd told reporters in Canberra. “For Australian banks, building societies, credit unions and also for the foreign subsidiaries of banks operating in Australia taking deposits.” Rudd, who has held two days of crisis talks with top officials on the financial turmoil sparked by the credit crunch, said the government would also guarantee all wholesale term funding by Australian banks operating in international markets.
■ INDIA
Central bank may cut rates
New Delhi may cut interest rates and further reduce the cash-reserve ratio of banks to increase the availability of cash in the nation’s financial system, the Economic Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The central bank may suspend its practice of absorbing excess funds via money-market auctions from banks that have surplus cash, the newspaper said. The government may also ban short-selling in the equity market to curb volatility in prices, the report said. In addition, policy makers may encourage banks to increase lending to top-rated companies to ease the availability of credit to industry, the paper said.
■ UAE
Bank chief offers assurances
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) central bank chief says the country’s financial institutions remain strong as he seeks to quiet fears the global credit crisis will sting the country. “National and foreign banks in [the] UAE enjoy a strong financial position,” Emirates Central Bank Governor Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in a statement released to state news agency WAM. The country’s citizens are responsible for three-quarters of deposits, he said yesterday. However, UAE citizens represent only about 20 percent of the kingdom’s population, which hosts large numbers of foreign workers. Most holdings in UAE banks are located within the country rather than abroad, and “their parties are known and sound, contrary to what is there in other economies,” al-Suwaidi said.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Hyundai lowers expectations
Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, said it probably won’t meet sales targets in the US and Europe as the global financial crisis erodes demand for new vehicles. “The financial crisis becomes a bigger problem than we first thought,” Choi Jae-kook, president for international sales, said on Friday. “Demand in advanced markets like the US and Europe can’t help but slow,” making it difficult to meet sales targets. Yesterday Hyundai introduced the Genesis Coupe, its first rear-wheel-drive sports car.
■ INFRASTRUCTURE
Singapore project delayed
The completion of a S$1.2 billion (US$808 million) sports venue by late 2011 is likely to be delayed by a year because of the global financial crisis, the Sunday Times said yesterday. A worldwide rise in the cost of building materials has also affected plans to finish the waterfront project on time, the newspaper said. “We’d be lying if we said we were not affected by the financial crisis,” a person involved with the project was quoted as saying by the newspaper. A consortium led by a subsidiary of France’s Bouygues Construction won the tender in January to build the complex.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft