■AUTOMOBILES
Cash running out: GM
The target date for General Motors Corp (GM) to get its second installment of government loans passed last week, but a top company executive says he expected the money to arrive in the next several days. GM president and chief operating officer Fritz Henderson said without the second installment of US$5.4 billion, the company would run out of cash long before March 31. Last month, the US Treasury Department authorized US$13.4 billion in loans for GM and US$4 billion for Chrysler LLC to keep both automakers out of bankruptcy. GM received US$4 billion late last year and was to get US$5.4 billion on Friday and US$4 billion on Saturday.
■SEMICONDUCTORS
Samsung replaces chiefs
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s top memory chipmaker, said yesterday it was replacing the chiefs of most overseas units as part of a major overhaul to counter the recession. New bosses have been appointed at five out of eight regional headquarters, the latest move in what the firm described as the biggest reshuffle in its history. More than 80 percent of 1,200 staff at the firm’s Seoul headquarters have been posted to local production or marketing units.
■PHARMACEUTICALS
Japan approves drugs
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has received approval from the Japanese authorities for four drugs, including a medication for the treatment of leukemia, the group said yesterday. Leukemia medication Tasigna, severe asthma medicine Xolair, high blood pressure drug Co-Dio and eye disease drug Lucentis can now be sold in Japan. Tasigna, Xolair and Lucentis generated sales of US$871 million in the first nine months of last year.
■BANKING
SG expects solid profits
French bank Societe Generale said yesterday it expected net profits last year to reach 2 billion euros (US$2.59 billion) and to break even for the fourth quarter despite an exceptionally rocky year. The bank, hurt by a massive trading loss early last year, cited “the solidity of its retail banking activities and its diversified business portfolio” as the reason for its overall solid performance last year.
■SOUTH KOREA
Exports sharply down
South Korea’s exports fell sharply this month as recession gripped many overseas markets, Customs Service data released yesterday showed. Customs said that outbound shipments fell an estimated 29 percent to US$12.48 billion in the first 20 days compared with the same period last year. Imports fell 22.5 percent to US$17.05 billion, leaving a US$4.57 billion trade deficit. A state-run think tank yesterday forecast export growth of just 0.7 percent this year, the slowest since the East Asian financial crisis of a decade ago.
■SHIPPING
Bank scraps shipyard deal
A US$4.6 billion deal to sell South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering — the world’s third largest shipyard — to Hanwha has been called off, a news report said yesterday. The directors of the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) have decided to abort what would have been the shipbuilding industry’s largest acquisition to date, Yonhap news agency said, quoting an unidentified KDB official. Hanwha, a major conglomerate focused on chemical and energy firms, signed a deal in November to buy KDB’s 50.4 percent stake in the shipbuilder for 6.3 trillion won.
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