■FINANCE
Dubai World, banks in talks
Dubai World said yesterday it was engaged in “constructive” talks with banks to restructure some US$26 billion in debt. “The total value of debt carried by the companies subject to the restructuring process amounts to approximately US$26 billion, the holding company said in a statement. It said US$6 billion of the sum was related to Islamic bonds held by its subsidiary Nakheel. The subsidiaries Infinity World Holding, Istithmar World and Ports and Free Zone World would not be subject to restructuring, while the new steps would affect Nakheel World and Limitless World, it said. Nakheel on Monday asked that its bonds stop being traded on the Dubai exchange. The development wing of Dubai World, it has has a US$3.5 billion Islamic bond due this month. Dubai World also pledged to be more transparent.
■CONSTRUCTION
Caterpillar buying Jinsung
US construction and mining equipment giant Caterpillar has agreed to acquire a South Korean machinery parts supplier for more than US$36 million, both companies said yesterday. South Korea’s Jinsung T.E.C said Caterpillar would purchase the entire stake of JCS Co, an affiliate of Jinsung, for 42 billion won (US$36.1 million). The deal will be finalized by Jan. 31, Jinsung said. Caterpillar said the planned takeover is part of its strategy to expand business in China and the rest of Asia and strengthen its supply chain in the region. Caterpillar is the world’s largest maker of earth-moving and mining equipment by sales.
■PHARMACEUTICALS
China approves Bayer drug
The German pharmaceutical giant Bayer said yesterday that its treatment for multiple sclerosis, Betaferon, has been approved for sale in China and will be launched in the middle of next year. Betaferon, which is sold under the name Betseron in some markets, is one of Bayer’s best-selling drugs, along with the contraceptive Yasmin. Betaferon is already available in more than 100 countries and posted sales of more than US$1.5 billion last year.
■COMPUTERS
IBM buys Guardium
IBM Corp, the world’s largest computer-services provider, said it bought closely held Guardium Inc to gain database security software. Guardium’s products help companies protect databases from hackers and threats from legitimate users, IBM said in a statement on Monday, without disclosing the purchase price. IBM will integrate Guardium into its information-management software business. IBM, whose revenue topped US$100 billion last year, is the world’s third-largest software maker, trailing Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp.
■SOUTH KOREA
Exports up 18.8 percent
South Korean exports posted their first year-on-year gain in 13 months last month, the government said yesterday, a further sign the country has overcome the worst of the global economic meltdown. Exports increased 18.8 percent to US$34.3 billion from a year earlier, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement. Imports rose 4.7 percent to US$30.2 billion. South Korea recorded a trade surplus of US$4.05 billion, the 10th straight month the country’s trade balance has been in the black, the ministry said. Last month’s export gain was the first year-on-year increase since October last year.
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
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
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
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