■SOUTH KOREA
Business outlook rises
The business outlook among major South Korean companies for next month reached the highest level in nearly two years, a private survey showed yesterday, fanning hopes for a sustainable recovery. The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the country’s biggest lobby group for large companies, said its business survey index rose for an eighth consecutive month to a seasonally adjusted 110.6, the highest since November 2007. A reading above 100 means most companies expect their business conditions to improve rather than worsen. The survey was based on responses from 565 large companies.
■UNITED KINGDOM
House prices increase
House prices rose for the fourth month running and at their fastest monthly rate in two-and-a-half years this month, the Nationwide Building Society said yesterday, in a further sign the housing market is picking up. The mortgage lender said house prices rose 1.6 percent this month after a 1.4 percent rise last month. This took the annual rate of decline down to 2.7 percent — its smallest since April last year — from 6.2 percent and leaving the average price of a home at £160,224 (US$262,000). House prices have been supported recently by a lack of homes coming onto the market, alongside a tentative pick-up in interest from people wanting to buy. Other surveys have also shown prices picking up from last year’s slump.
■AUTOMOBILES
SAIC profit drops
SAIC Motor Corp (上海汽集團), China’s biggest automaker, said its first-half net profit dropped 26 percent from a year earlier because of write-offs related to its ailing South Korean unit Ssangyong Motor. SAIC posted a net profit of 1.45 billion yuan (US$212.2 million) in the six-month period, down from 1.97 billion yuan in the first half of last year, it said in a statement filed on Wednesday to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Revenue rose 6.7 percent in the period to 61.3 billion yuan, boosted by government incentives such as a cut in taxes on small cars and subsidies for buyers of fuel-efficient vehicles in rural areas, it said.
■TRADE
India eyes Africa, S America
India plans to boost trade with emerging markets in Africa and South America to offset a slide in exports to recession-hit developed nations, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said yesterday. He said the country was aiming for growth of 15 percent over two years to achieve exports of US$200 billion by March 2011, up from US$168 billion in March. “Our exports have suffered a decline in the last 10 months due to a contraction in demand in the traditional [developed] export markets,” Sharma said.
■AVIATION
Air New Zealand profit drops
Air New Zealand’s annual net profit slumped 90 percent as stiff competition over a shrinking travel market dragged down fares. The carrier, 75 percent owned by the New Zealand government, said yesterday that net profit for the year ended June 30 sank to NZ$21 million (US$14 million) from NZ$218 million the previous year. Chairman John Palmer said Air New Zealand was one of the few international airlines to remain profitable during the global recession but the result still “falls short.” The International Air Transport Association expects the global airline industry to post losses of US$9 billion this year.
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