■MINING
Rio Tinto invests in US mine
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto yesterday said it was investing US$469 million to develop a nickel and copper mine in the US. Construction of the Kennecott Eagle mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will begin this year. “Moving to the construction phase of Eagle is part of our strategy to increase investment in attractive growth projects in 2010,” Andrew Harding, head of Rio’s copper division, said in a statement.
■REAL ESTATE
Australia warned of bubble
US investment guru Jeremy Grantham said yesterday that Australia is facing a “time bomb” housing bubble that will be set off by rising interest rates. Grantham said Australian house prices needed to fall 42 percent to reach the long-term trend. “You cannot possibly miss it,” he told the Australian newspaper. “The price of housing typically trades about 3.5 times of family income and in a bubble it goes to six or 7.5 times. Australia is having one now.”
■ENERGY
Hyundai to build Saudi plant
South Korean construction firm Hyundai Heavy Industries said yesterday it had signed a US$1.6 billion contract to build a power plant in Saudi Arabia. The company said it would complete the 1,729 megawatt gas-fired plant by 2013, as part of Saudi Arabia’s long-term plans to expand its power production capacity. Hyundai Heavy said it expects more power contracts in the Middle East due to high oil revenues and the rapid growth of the region’s economies and population.
■AUTOMOBILES
Suzuki to boost India output
Suzuki Motor plans to boost its production capacity for passenger cars in India to 1.45 million vehicles a year in 2012, topping its output in Japan for the first time, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday. Suzuki’s local unit, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., will invest ¥2 billion US$21 million) to ¥4 billion this year to upgrade its two existing factories, increasing its capacity to 1.2 million units from about 1 million at present, the paper cited Suzuki president Shinzo Nakanishi as saying.
■UNITED KINGDOM
FSA to lose key role
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was scheduled yesterday to give the Bank of England the main responsibility for ensuring the country’s financial stability, as part of a regulatory shake-up. Reports said Osborne would use his first annual Mansion House speech to business leaders to strip the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulator of the role. The FSA was strongly criticized for failing to carry out its duties during the 2007 to 2008 banking crisis.
■AUTOMOBILES
Tesla Motors planning IPO
US electric carmaker Tesla Motors said on Tuesday it plans to offer 11.1 million shares priced between US$14 and US$16 in an initial public offering that could raise about US$178 million. The Palo Alto, California-based automaker, which is seeking to be listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol “TSLA,” outlined the terms for its share offering in an amended filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. No date was set for the IPO. Tesla said additional shares could be offered if demand is high to raise as much as US$204 million. Japan’s Toyota has already agreed to take a US$50 million stake in Tesla, purchasing 3.33 million shares in the company.
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