■BANKING
French bank makes profit
Societe Generale SA, France’s second-biggest bank, said it expected to report “slightly positive” net income in the second quarter, helped by its corporate and investment banking division. Net banking income will be hurt by a 1.3 billion euro (US$1.8 billion) writedown on credit default swaps used to hedge the bank’s loan portfolio and debt securities, the Paris-based lender said in a statement today. The bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio, a key indicator of financial health, should be close to the 9.2 percent it reported at the end of March, it said.
Societe Generale has raised 3.4 billion euros in state funds, half in subordinated debt and half through preferred shares, to offset writedowns and trading losses.
■CREDIT
Citi announces new CEOs
Citigroup Inc named Stephen Bird and Shirish Apte as chief executive officers for the Asia-Pacific region, replacing Ajay Banga, who left last month to join MasterCard Inc. Bird, 42, and Apte, 56, will be jointly responsible for Citigroup’s business in the region, the New York-based bank said today in a statement released through Business Wire. Bird will be in charge of Northern Asia, while Apte will oversee operations in Southern Asia, the statement said. Citigroup also named Shengman Zhang (章晟曼) as its Asia-Pacific chairman. Bill Mills and Alberto Verme will become chief executive officers for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Bird joined Citigroup in 1998 and was most recently chief executive officer for North Asia including China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan. Apte is moving to Asia after being chief executive officer for Central and Eastern Europe.
■MOBILE PHONES
DoCoMo buys media firm
NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile phone operator, said yesterday it spent US$45.5 million to take a 35 percent share in a US company that makes multimedia technology for its mobile phones. The cellular carrier made the investment in PacketVideo Corp, a San Diego-based company that makes a mutlimedia player that uses its handsets, the companies said in a press release. PacketVideo is a subsidiary of NextWave Wireless Inc. NTT DoCoMo said the purchase was made to strengthen its music and video services domestically. In Japan, where most phones come with digital TV tuners and software to play back audio and video files, operators have traditionally had strict control over the software and standards used in mobile phones on their networks.
■FRANCE
State-owned deposits moved
The French government and state-owned Caisse de Depots plan to transfer stakes in companies valued at 14 billion euros (US$19.5 billion) to the government-created strategic fund, the finance ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The transfer will include the government’s 13.5 percent stake in France Telecom SA and 8 percent stake in Aeroports de Paris SA.
■FRANCE
Fraud office to probe Rover
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office will probe the demise of historic car manufacturer MG Rover, which collapsed in 2005 with the loss of 6,000 jobs, media reports said on Sunday. The BBC reported on its Web site, without citing its source, that Business Secretary Peter Mandelson will announce the investigation before parliament on Monday.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique