■PHARMACEUTICALS
GSK to buy 9.9% of Dong-A
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) stepped up its drive into emerging markets yesterday by agreeing to buy a 9.9 percent stake in South Korea’s Dong-A Pharmaceuticals for £73.9 million (US$114 million). The deal wins the British-based group an alliance with the leading pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter medicines company in South Korea — a market expected to grow about 10 percent a year through 2012.
■BEVERAGES
Carlsberg posts sound profit
Danish brewer Carlsberg reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit of 471 million kroner (US$62.3 million) yesterday and maintained its outlook for this year as it improved sales and margins in Asia and northern and western Europe. The world’s fourth-largest brewer, however, said its results had been hurt by an increased sales tax on beer in Russia, which caused sales to fall 12 percent in the country, one of its main markets.
■AVIATION
EasyJet trims profit forecast
British no-frills airline easyJet yesterday lowered its full-year profit forecast after announcing that travel disruption caused by the volcanic ash cloud had cost it between £50 million and £75 million. The carrier also reported that its net losses had narrowed during the first six months of its fiscal year. An easyJet statement said it expected annual pre-tax profit of £100 million to £150 million.
■RETAIL
Carrefour to open India shop
French supermarket giant Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, said yesterday it would soon open its first wholesale store in India, without a local partner. “We are starting our ‘cash and carry’ business in India as the government allows 100 percent foreign investment in this segment,” Jean Noel Bironneau, general manager of Carrefour India, told reporters. “So far FDI [foreign direct investment] is not relaxed for us to launch a hypermarket,” he said.
■ENERGY
E.ON’s Q1 profit drops 7%
German energy producer E.ON AG said that its first-quarter net profit fell 7 percent, as taxes hurt otherwise buoyant underlying earnings growth. Duesseldorf-based E.ON said yesterday that net profit dropped to 2.3 billion euros (US$2.97 billion) from 2.5 billion euros a year earlier, or 1.20 euros per share compared with last year’s 1.29. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, however, were up to about 3.7 billion euros from 3.1 billion euros a year earlier.
■LEISURE
Euro Disney losses expand
Theme park operator Euro Disney yesterday reported a 32.4 percent deepening in its first-half net loss, which it blamed on falling attendance, notably by British visitors. The group said profit in the first half of its 2009-2010 fiscal year, which ended on March 31, came to 95.2 million euros on sales that were down 7 percent from the same period a year earlier at 519 million euros.
■TELECOMS
Telefonica to buy Brasilcel
Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica said yesterday it had offered to acquire Portugal Telecom unit Brasilcel for 5.7 billion euros by buying the 50 percent stake it does not already own. The unit is 50 percent owned by Telefonica and 50 percent by Portugal Telecom. The Telefonica offer expires on June 6, the Spanish telecoms group said.
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
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
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