■PHARMACEUTICALS
Dow to sell Morton Salt
Having completed its US$16.5 billion buyout of Rohm & Haas, Dow Chemical Co said on Wednesday it would sell Morton Salt to German fertilizer maker K+S Aktiengesellschaft in a deal valuing the former Rohm & Haas unit at US$1.675 billion. The sale is part of Dow’s plan to sell off non-core Rohm & Haas assets to pay down the hefty debt it had to take on to complete the purchase of the chemical maker. “This sale puts us ahead of schedule on our de-leveraging plan post the close of the Rohm & Haas acquisition,” Dow chairman and chief executive Andrew Liveris said in a statement.
■INSURANCE
Reinsurer to slim workforce
Swiss Reinsurance Co said yesterday it would cut 10 percent of its work force this year in a bid to reduce costs and simplify its operations. The world’s second-biggest reinsurance company, which currently has 11,560 employees, also announced the appointment of Agostino Galvagni as new chief operating officer. The company posted an 864 million Swiss franc (US$809 million) loss last year. The Zurich-based company has received a capital injection of SF3 billion from US investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc and said it was looking for another SF2 billion on the capital markets.
■PROPERTY
British house prices rise
British house prices rose for the first time in 17 months last month, a survey by home-loans provider Nationwide showed yesterday. The cost of a home in Britain increased by 0.9 percent last month from February, leaving the average value of a home at just under £151,000 (US$220,000), Nationwide said. The surprise increase also led to a reduction in the annual rate at which house prices are falling — to 15.7 percent from a record 17.6 percent in February.
■RETAIL
Aeon to trade in China
Japanese retail giant Aeon Co said yesterday that it plans to open 200 convenience stores in China over the next five years as it looks for business beyond its recession-hit home market. The supermarket operator has set up a unit for its Ministop chain in Qingdao, Shandong Province, with US$5 million in capital, said a spokesman who asked not to be named. “We aim to open outlets as early as this summer and plan to increase the number to about 200 in Shandong Province in five years’ time,” said the spokesman, citing “potentially huge demand.”
■COMPUTERS
Many Satyam staff quitting
As many as 13,000 employees may have quit India’s graft-tainted outsourcing giant Satyam, with some poached by clients and others leaving to work for rivals or other firms, a report said yesterday. The workforce of Satyam, which has been struggling for survival since its founder admitted to falsifying profits, stood at 40,000 by the end of March, down from 53,000 at the start of the year, India’s Mint business daily said.
■COMPUTERS
Silicon Graphics goes bust
Silicon Graphics Inc, a one-time computer powerhouse that delivered the special effects in many Hollywood hits, declared bankruptcy on Wednesday and was purchased for US$25 million in cash. Rackable Systems Inc, a Fremont, California-based manufacturer of servers and data storage products, announced that it had agreed to acquire most of the assets of Silicon Graphics and to assume some of its liabilities.
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
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