■ AVIATION
Mitsubishi eyes Americas
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said yesterday it would launch a sales drive for Japan’s first passenger jet in the Americas next month, hoping for a share of a large but crowded market for regional airliners. Mitsubishi is expected to face tough competition from established makers of similar jets in the region, including Canada’s Bombardier and Brazil’s Embraer. Mitsubishi’s aircraft division said it would put US$700,000 in the Texas-based sales subsidiary.
■ FINANCE
PRC fund pulls investment
China’s sovereign wealth investment company said it redeemed its investments from a US money market fund hit by soured debt before the fund suspended withdrawals last month. China Investment Corp’s (CIC, 中國投資公司) investment, through an affiliate called Stable Investment Corp, is not subject to the potential 3 percent losses the Reserve Primary Fund incurred through its investments in Lehman Brothers, CIC said in a statement yesterday on its Web site. “The fund has confirmed through written documents that it will pay back both principal and interest of our investment,” the CIC statement said.
■ ENERGY
Shoes generate electricity
Telecoms giant NTT is developing shoes that generate electricity as you walk. The shoes have a small generator attached to water-filled soles. Each step puts pressure on the soles, causing the water to spin a small turbine and generate power, NTT said. The futuristic shoes generate 1.2 watts of electricity, “a level sufficient to run an iPod mobile music player forever, as long as the wearer keeps walking,” spokesman Hideomi Tenma said. “The company is trying to improve the power-generating capacity to 3 watts, which is the amount of electricity to power a mobile phone,” he said.
■ TELECOMS
Singapore addicted to SMS
Phone users in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are Asia’s most enthusiastic senders of text messages, a survey released yesterday showed. More than 97 percent of cellphone users in Singapore sent text messages in the past month, followed by 96 percent of people in Kuala Lumpur and 94 percent of people in Seoul, the survey found. The region’s lowest rates of text messaging were found in Hong Kong, at 85 percent, and Bangkok, at 69 percent, it said. The survey was conducted by market research firm Synovate.
■ INTERNET
Google gets royal visit
Google added a picture of Queen Elizabeth to the logo on its British homepage yesterday to mark her visit to its London offices. The image, known as a Google Doodle, showed the queen in profile and a crown above the letter E of Google. The queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were to tour Googel’s British headquarters, a short walk from Buckingham Palace in central London.
■ BEVERAGES
Coca-Cola profits leap
US soft-drink giant Coca-Cola reported better than expected third-quarter profits on Wednesday, which it attributed to international sales that gained an extra lift from the Beijing Olympics and a weak US dollar. Third-quarter net profit leapt 14 percent to US$1.89 billion. Earnings per share of US$0.83 were 17 percent higher year-on-year. Most analysts had forecast earnings per share of US$0.77.
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