■ENERGY
LNG exports to India rise
Australia’s coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to India are set to climb as the South Asian nation’s economy undergoes rapid growth, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said yesterday. Asia is bouncing back from the global slump more quickly than the rest of the world at the same time as India is becoming an increasingly important destination for Australian resources, it said. “Indian demand for Australia’s exports has risen sharply, with particularly rapid growth over the past decade,” the bank said in a statement on monetary policy. “This has seen India’s share of Australia’s total exports increase to around 6.5 percent — a four-fold increase in less than a decade.”
■LUXURY GOODS
LVMH profits drop
French luxury group LVMH, the maker of fine champagne, Louis Vuitton purses and Dior perfume, reported on Thursday a drop in net profit last year as the economic crisis hurt wine sales. Net profit fell by 13 percent to 1.755 billion euros (US$2.416 billion) last year compared with 2.03 billion euros in 2008, while sales were down 1 percent to 17.05 billion euros, the company said in an earnings statement. Chief executive Bernard Arnault said the company remained cautious for this year, saying it was “difficult to predict.” LVMH did not forecast any results for this year.
■MINING
Rio Tinto picks China chief
Mining giant Rio Tinto has appointed a top iron ore executive to head its operations in China, in an apparent bid to repair relations with its biggest customer. Ian Bauert would become managing director for the China business with immediate effect, the company said yesterday. Bauert’s previous role was managing director for sales and marketing of Rio Tinto’s iron ore operation, and he has China experience. He opened the company’s first office in China more than 25 years ago and is a fluent Mandarin speaker, it said.
■INTERNET
Facebook turns six
Facebook marked its sixth birthday on Thursday by simplifying its home page and holding an all-night “hackathon” to craft new software for the social networking Web site. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the online community was hitting another milestone with membership climbing to 400 million this week. “So to celebrate six years of Facebook and the 400 million people on the service, we’re doing what we like doing most — building and launching products for people,” Zuckerberg said in a blog post. The new home page began rolling out worldwide late on Thursday, with links to content such as games and applications in a panel to the left of the screen.
■BANKING
Julius Baer profits rise 7.2%
Swiss private bank Julius Baer said yesterday its net profit rose 7.2 percent last year and it expected to play a key role in banking sector consolidation this year. It said net profit last year totaled 473.2 million Swiss francs (US$443 million), in line with analyst forecasts. Net banking income — the difference between interest earned and interest paid out — fell 4.6 percent to SF1.5 billion while assets under management rose 19 percent to SF153.6 billion, it said. It did not give further details on what steps it might take in the industry’s restructuring.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)