■AUTOMOBILES
BMW sales dipped last year
The German group BMW said yesterday that sales last year slipped 4.7 percent as the luxury car market was hit by the global recession, but added that it expected to sell more than 1.3 million autos this year. Group sales fell to 50.68 billion euros (US$70.64 billion), it said in a statement that provided provisional results. Final results are to be published on March 17, with the BMW chief saying the company expected to post a pre-tax profit. Germany’s leading high-end automobile group is placing hopes for this year in a new Series 5 sedan expected to be released in March.
■ELECTRONICS
Toshiba books smaller loss
Toshiba Corp said yesterday it booked a much smaller loss in the quarter ending last month compared with a year earlier, bolstered by a recovery in its electronic component business. The Japanese conglomerate said third-quarter net loss narrowed to ¥10.64 billion (US$118.5 million) from ¥121.14 billion. Quarterly revenue rose 6 percent to ¥1.58 trillion from ¥1.49 trillion. Toshiba lowered its revenue target for the full fiscal year through March, saying it now expected revenues of ¥6.4 trillion, down from an earlier forecast of ¥6.8 trillion. The company kept its forecast for a ¥50 billion loss for the year.
■ELECTRONICS
Fujitsu returns to profit
Fujitsu Ltd, Japan’s biggest computer-services provider, swung to a profit in the third quarter after the company sold its money-losing hardware businesses. Net income was ¥4.1 billion in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a ¥40.8 billion loss a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement yesterday. Fujitsu posted a ¥112.4 billion loss last fiscal year. The company completed the sale of its hard-disk-drive business to Toshiba Corp in October and has agreed to outsource some chipmaking to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to cut spending.
■INDIA
Central Bank retains rates
The central bank kept interest rates on hold yesterday, but moved to drain liquidity from the banking system to hedge off surging inflation without hurting economic recovery. The Reserve Bank of India boosted its cash reserve ratio — the sum commercial banks keep on deposit —by a higher-than-expected 75 basis points to 5.75 percent in what it said was a bid to tame “inflationary expectations.” Inflation last month surged to 7.31 percent year-on-year, propelled by soaring food prices. The two-stage increase, 25 basis points higher than analysts’ forecasts, will suck 360 billion rupees (US$7.7 billion) from the banking system. The rise was seen as a move toward monetary tightening after a period of aggressive easing to shield the country from the global slump.
■SOUTH KOREA
Industrial output up 33.9%
Industrial output last month jumped 33.9 percent from a year earlier, official data showed yesterday, as the economy continued to recover from the global slowdown. The steep rise was mainly attributed to a low base in December 2008, when industrial production dropped 18.7 percent year-on-year at the height of the slump, Statistics Korea said. Month-on-month output expanded 3.5 percent. Strong demand for semiconductors, cars and machinery contributed to the growth, it said.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS