■ENERGY
China consumption drops
China’s electricity consumption fell 3.6 percent year on year last month, a larger drop than in March, the latest sign an economic recovery has yet to take hold, state media reported yesterday. The industrial sector consumes about 70 percent of the power in China, according to the report by the Xinhua news agency, and the decline is inconsistent with data indicating industrial activity has been expanding. Power consumption was down 2 percent year on year in March, the report said, citing figures from the China Electricity Council.
■AVIATION
Heathrow awards bridges
A South Korean consortium has won a US$27 million deal to provide 90 passenger boarding bridges to London’s Heathrow Airport, a report said yesterday. Samsung C&T and Hyundai Rotem of South Korea signed the four-year contract with BAA, the Spanish-owned operator of airports in Britain, Yonhap news agency said, citing the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, which brokered the deal earlier this year. The first batch of 28 passenger boarding bridges worth US$9.5 million would be delivered by the first half of next year, it said. South Korean firms hope to win more deals with BAA, which operates seven airports in Britain and plans to spend billions of dollars on refurbishing them in the next five years, the report said.
■BANKING
Lloyds chief to resign
Victor Blank will stand down as chairman of Lloyds Banking Group and was to announce his decision as soon as yesterday, the Telegraph newspaper said in an article posted on its Web site on Saturday. “Sir Victor, who has been under mounting pressure from institutional shareholders following Lloyds TSB’s merger with the crisis-hit HBOS last autumn, is expected to say that he will remain at Lloyds for about a year, allowing a successor to be identified,” the newspaper said. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. HBOS was taken over by rival Lloyds TSB in a government-brokered deal in September to save it from collapse after a dramatic slump in its share price.
■BANKING
Commerzbank approves bid
Commerzbank shareholders on Saturday approved the German government’s acquisition of more than 25 percent of the country’s second-largest bank in connection with state aid, the bank said. The government has injected more than 18 billion euros (US$24 billion) into Commerzbank and its entry into the bank’s capital was adopted almost unanimously, the company said in a statement. A two-thirds vote was required for the 25 percent plus one share stake. The bank would issue 295 million new shares at a price of 6 euros per share, the statement said. The new shares would be acquired by the Financial Market Stabilisation Fund (SoFFin) — the government’s rescue fund — at issue price, the statement said.
■AUTOMOTIVE
Auto union still in talks
The Canadian Autoworkers union is still in talks with General Motors Corp over cost cuts sought by the besieged automaker, but a number of key issues remain unresolved, the union said on Saturday. A government-imposed midnight deadline on Friday for an agreement to help make the company’s Canadian operations viable passed overnight without a deal. “Our CAW negotiating team continues to work hard to reach an agreement with General Motors,” CAW president Ken Lewenza said in the statement.
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