■AUTO
Honda raises ¥18.6 billion
Honda Finance Co, a unit of Honda Motor Co, raised ¥18.6 billion (US$205 million) through a syndicated loan, said an e-mailed statement from Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, which arranged the transaction. Honda Finance, which provides auto financing services, borrowed the funds for five years at an interest rate of 20 basis points more than the six-month yen Tokyo interbank offered rate, and the deal involved 14 domestic financial institutions, the statement said. The Tokyo-based company originally sought ¥10 billion. The amount was raised in light of strong demand from lenders, the statement said. Honda Finance has announced plans to sell a four-year bond.
■FINANCE
S Korea pension cuts stocks
South Korea’s state pension fund, the country’s largest institutional investor, will cut its stock investments next year amid global financial turmoil and bearish markets, the government said yesterday. The National Pension Service (NPS) will trim its stock investment ratio from the current 29.7 percent to 20.65 percent of total assets, according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs. The NPS manages holdings of more than 230 trillion won (US$180 billion). The fund has lowered its local stock investment target to 17 percent of its assets from the previous 20.3 percent, and cut planned investment in overseas shares to 3.6 percent from 9.4 percent, the ministry said.
■MINING
OZ Minerals to give update
OZ Minerals Ltd, the world’s second-largest zinc mining company, said it would provide an update on the refinancing of US$560 million of debt today. OZ Minerals had two loans that needed to be refinanced by yesterday. The Melbourne-based company previously said it was unlikely to meet that deadline and may extend it to Jan. 31. Shares of OZ Minerals, which plunged 79 percent this half, have been suspended since Nov. 27 as the company sought to refinance its debt. HBOS Plc, a main lender to the miner, was reluctant to roll over credit lines and other funding, the Australian newspaper reported yesterday.
■BANKING
Merrill chairman retires
Merrill Lynch & Co Asia-Pacific chairman Raymundo Yu(楊金炎) is retiring after 27 years with the New York-based investment bank, two people familiar with the matter said. Yu, who joined Merrill in 1981 as a management trainee in New York, has been planning to retire for some time, the people said, asking not to be identified before an official announcement scheduled for today. Singapore-based Yu, 53, is the third top Merrill executive in Asia to depart in the past two months as Bank of America Corp completes a takeover of the firm. Jason Brand, 37, president for the Asia-Pacific region, left this month and Damian Chunilal, 40, quit last month as regional head of investment banking.
■AVIATION
DAE inks Air N Zealand deal
DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing and financial business unit of state-owned Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, signed a 12-year sale and leaseback agreement with Air New Zealand Ltd for two new Boeing 777-300ER planes. The aircraft, due for delivery next month and March 2011, are powered by GE90-115BL engines and are part of a four-plane order for Boeing Co 777s by New Zealand’s flag carrier, the Dubai-based company said in an e-mailed statement late on Sunday. DAE Capital currently has a leasing fleet of 33 aircraft.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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