■INTEREST RATES
Indonesia, Canada cut rates
Indonesia’s central bank cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point yesterday to 7.75 percent to stimulate growth amid the global crisis. “This decision has been taken after reflecting and evaluating fully on financial and economic developments at home and abroad, especially concerning the ongoing global financial crisis,” Bank Indonesia said in an online statement. Meanwhile, Canada’s central bank cut its trendsetting interest rate by one-half point to 0.5 percent on Tuesday — the lowest in history. The Bank of Canada urged other countries to implement timely and ambitious plans to address toxic assets and recapitalize financial institutions.
■FOOD
Bankrupt Sanlu auctioned off
The dairy company at the center of China’s scandal over tainted milk that sickened thousands of babies was auctioned off yesterday for 616.5 million yuan (US$90 million) after going bankrupt last month, Xinhua news agency said. Sanlu Group Co (三鹿) was one of 22 Chinese dairies whose products were found to contain high levels of the industrial chemical melamine. Sanlu was bought by Beijing-based dairy company Sanyuan Foods Co (三元食品) during the auction at the Intermediate People’s Court of Shijiazhuang, Xinhua reported. Sanlu was declared bankrupt last month.
■INTERNET
Yahoo quiet on sales talks
Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz said on Tuesday that Internet search data remained “extremely important” to the company and any talks about selling the business to Microsoft would remain private. “We’ve been investing in search this last tumultuous year,” the new Yahoo CEO said at a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco. “We’ve actually improved the search experience.” Bartz also said Yahoo was interested in social networks, but added: “I do not think we can invent the next Facebook.” Bartz’s comments came as Microsoft confirmed it was testing a new Internet search engine known as Kumo.com it hoped would make the software giant a player in a market dominated by Google.
■TRADE
Japan fund eyes S Korea
A Japanese private equity fund will invest almost US$2 billion in a free trade zone on South Korea’s west coast, a state trade agency said yesterday. The Vana World fund, after talks with the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, will sign a letter of intent in Seoul today to invest in the New Songdo City zone, the agency said. “The investment, to be made in Korean currency, will total 3 trillion won [US$1.9 billion],” an agency official handling the issue said, refusing to elaborate. Work started in 2005 on the zone on reclaimed land at Incheon, west of Seoul. The ambitious 10-year project aims to create a commercial hub, mainly to take advantage of the Chinese market, but local media say foreign investment so far has been lower than expected.
■OIL
BP may freeze dividend
British oil giant BP is planning to freeze its dividend this year, its chief executive told the Financial Times (FT) yesterday as the firm seeks to adjust to plunging oil prices. “We don’t at this moment anticipate” a rise in the dividend for this year, chief executive Tony Hayward said. FT said this would be the first freeze since 1999. Last month, BP reported a 24 percent slide in Q4 net profit, but a leap of 39 percent for the whole of last year as oil prices swung from record highs to multi-year lows.
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
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned