■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota recalls cars in China
Toyota began a recall of nearly 122,000 cars in China yesterday due to defects that could lead to steering failure, the Chinese government and the automaker said. The recall covers Crown, Reiz and Lexus models, a statement posted on General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine’s Web site said. The company would contact car owners to have their vehicles examined at Toyota dealerships or garages, the statement said.
■TELECOMS
DoCoMo delays Tata deal
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan’s largest mobile-phone operator, delayed plans to acquire a 20 percent stake of India’s Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd. DoCoMo, which had planned to make an open offer for the Tata shares on Jan. 8, pushed back the schedule because the company hasn’t yet received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Lazard Ltd, which is managing the deal, said on behalf of the Japanese phone operator in a statement to the National Stock Exchange yesterday. The new date will be announced after the plan gets regulatory approval, it said. The regulator will probably approve the plan next week and propose a schedule, said Nikhil Saraf, an India-based spokesman for Lazard. The approval was initially expected by last Saturday, he said.
■FAST FOOD
Nissin Foods eyes Russia
Japan’s Nissin Foods, the inventor of instant noodles, said yesterday it would spend nearly US$300 million on entering Russia, where it eyes a growing market for its fast food meals. Nissin Foods Holdings Co said it planned to buy around a one-third stake in Russia’s LLC Mareven Food Central, which controls 41 percent of Russia’s instant noodle market. As a first step, the Japanese firm will invest ¥9.3 billion (US$102.5 million) next month to buy a 14.99 percent stake in Angleside Ltd, the parent company of Russia’s biggest instant noodle maker, Nissin said in a statement. Nissin will then raise its stake to 33.5 percent by September 2010 with its total investment estimated at ¥26.8 billion, it said.
■OIL
Reliance Petroleum rises
Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a unit of India’s biggest non-state company, rose the most in nine months in Mumbai trading after parent Reliance Industries Ltd announced the start of a new refinery. Reliance Petroleum climbed 11.4 percent to 88.45 rupees (US$1.85) at 10:18am in Mumbai after rising as much as 13.2 percent, the biggest gain since Feb. 14. Reliance Industries rose 1.9 percent, to 1265.8 rupees. Reliance Petroleum started processing crude at the refinery on Thursday, the parent said in an e-mailed release on Thursday. The export-oriented 580,000-barrel-a-day refinery at Jamnagar is adjacent to the company’s 660,000-barrel-a-day plant. The two units together will be the world’s largest refining complex, Reliance Industries said.
■AUTOMOBILES
Reshuffle at Hyundai Motor
Hyundai Motor Co named presidents Lee Hyun-soon and Choi Han-young as vice chairmen in a management reshuffle. Senior executive vice president Yang Woon-chul will be promoted to president, Hyundai and affiliate Kia Motors Corp said yesterday in an e-mailed joint statement. Kia promoted president Chung Sung-eun to vice chairman and vice president Shin Jong-woon to president, the statement said.
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
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
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