■AUTOMAKERS
Chinese VP to visit Sweden
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) is due in Sweden this weekend, amid signs that Chinese carmaker Geely could soon formally seal a deal to buy troubled Volvo from US auto giant Ford. Xi, tipped in political circles to replace President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) by 2013, is due to arrive in Stockholm today for a four-day visit, Xinhua news agency reported. The visit comes after the chairman of China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (吉利控股集團), Li Shufu (李書福), told the Wall Street Journal last week that he expected to complete the deal to acquire Volvo by the end of the month as planned.
■SOUTH KOREA
Economy expands slightly
The economy expanded 0.2 percent last quarter, matching the initial estimate as lower than projected manufacturing output offset stronger consumer spending. “The slow growth in the fourth quarter is temporary,” Bank of Korea official Kim Myung Kee said yesterday after the release. “Growth in the first quarter will be better.” The economy had expanded 3.2 percent in the three months to Sept. 30 from the previous quarter. GDP increased 0.2 percent last year, the report showed, slowing from 2.3 percent in 2008. Gross national income per capita declined to US$17,175 last year from US$19,296 in 2008, the central bank said.
■SINGAPORE
Production on the rise
Industrial production increased for a third straight month as rising exports of electronics and pharmaceuticals spurred output, bolstering economic growth. Manufacturing, which accounts for about a quarter of Singapore’s economy, gained 19.1 percent last month from a year earlier following a revised 39.2 percent jump the previous month, the Economic Development Board said yesterday. Industrial production rose a seasonally adjusted 5.9 percent last month from January, when it rose a revised 11 percent from a month earlier. Electronics production climbed 56.5 percent from a year earlier, following a revised 82 percent gain in January.
■RUSSIA
Central bank cuts key rate
The central bank yesterday announced it was cutting its key interest rate by a quarter of a point to a historic low of 8.25 percent to boost economic recovery. The reduction in the main refinancing rate would go into effect on Monday, the central bank said in a statement. The cut is “aimed at reducing the cost of credit, increasing access to credit for enterprises and creating conditions for a full-fledged restoration of domestic demand,” it said. Economic conditions allowed the rate to be cut without a risk of increased inflation, the bank added. The announcement marked the 12th rate cut in a row since April last year.
■AUTOMAKERS
Tripartite alliance discussed
Japan’s Nissan is in talks to join Renault of France and Germany’s Daimler in a three-way deal to hold up to 5 percent of each others’ shares, reports said yesterday. The three automakers hope to agree the tripartite alliance by early April, the Nikkei business daily and Kyodo news agency said. On Thursday the Financial Times said Renault, which holds a 44.3 percent stake in Nissan, and Daimler were close to finalizing a two-way alliance in which each would hold a 3 percent stake in the other. The three automakers are seeking a broad partnership to cooperate in developing environmental technologies, which require huge capital investment, and sharing parts and platforms to cut costs, the reports said.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
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