■ENERGY
GDF Suez in merger talks
French energy giant GDF Suez said yesterday it had renewed talks for a possible merger with its British competitor International Power after a first offer failed earlier this year. GDF Suez announced in a statement “that it is in preliminary discussions with International Power regarding a possible combination of International Power and GDF Suez Energy International Business Areas [outside Europe] and certain assets in the UK and Turkey.” International Power, which has interests in 45 power stations around the world and owns six power plants in Britain, also announced the preliminary talks in a separate statement in London. If the discussions are successful, they would lead to the creation of an enlarged International Energy group, which would remain on the London stock exchange, and in which GDF Suez would be the major shareholder, both companies said.
■REAL ESTATE
Beijing apartments too dear
A typical Beijing apartment costs about 22 times average incomes in the city, the China Daily said yesterday, highlighting the challenge China faces in providing affordable housing amid a property boom. A 90m² apartment in Beijing cost 1.6 million yuan (US$236,000) last year, the China Daily said, citing an independent report. That compared with an average household disposable income of about 71,000 yuan last year, according to city figures. The report was completed by the Beijing University of Technology and the Social Science Academic Press. It said the building of low-cost, government-subsidized housing had failed to meet demand and called on policymakers to increase the supply of land for such projects. Property prices last month fell 0.1 percent from the previous month, their first monthly fall since the first quarter of last year, according to official data.
■TELECOMS
Reliance shares skyrocket
Shares of India’s Reliance Communications rose nearly 4 percent yesterday on a report by the Financial Times that Abu Dhabi’s Etisalat was close to buying a 26 percent stake in the firm for US$3 billion. Reliance, the country’s second-biggest mobile phone firm, led by billionaire Anil Ambani, is looking for an investor to help raise cash to reduce its debt and upgrade its network. Reliance Communications shares rose to the day’s high of 194.45 rupees yesterday, up 3.92 percent. They have risen more than 40 percent in the past two months on speculation about interest by an overseas investor in the company.
■BANKING
Levies could benefit Asia
The head of Germany’s biggest bank, Josef Ackermann, said yesterday in an interview that growing Asian competition could benefit from proposed European and US bank levies. “The relative importance of Asia will even increase” as a result of regulatory moves against banks in the West, Ackermann told the Wall Street Journal. “Asian countries would be well advised not to copy levies which are so popular in many other parts of the world,” he said. Governments in Europe and the US are set to impose bank levies to help pay for the heavy cost of financial sector bailouts. Many in Asia are planning meanwhile to establish major financial centers to take on the established Western banking powers, Ackermann said. “A lot of governments are determined, including the Chinese, to build up financial hubs at a time when other countries are more skeptical about the financial sector,” he said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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