■ MANUFACTURING
Nidec to buy Emerson arm
Japan’s Nidec, the world’s largest disk-drive motor maker, said yesterday it would buy the motor and appliance-controls business of US technology giant Emerson. The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which the Nikkei Shimbun said was worth ¥60 billion (US$700 million) to ¥70 billion. The move should expand Nidec’s product range to large industrial motors as well as medium-size ones for appliances.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Mazda issues recall
Mazda Motor Corp is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes, a problem the automaker dealt with in Japan a year ago. The Japanese automaker told the government the recall involved vehicles of model years from 2007 to last year, built between April 2007 and November 2008. The recall involves 215,000 vehicles in the US and an additional 100,000 vehicles in Canada and Mexico.
■ BEVERAGES
PepsiCo to invest in Vietnam
Food and drinks giant PepsiCo plans to invest US$250 million in Vietnam to tap growth in the fast-developing country, the company said in a statement obtained yesterday. The investment will be made over three years, Saad Abdul-Latif, chief executive officer of PepsiCo Asia, said in the statement. The money will pay for a variety of projects such as increasing manufacturing capacity and installing extra marketplace equipment including coolers, the statement said.
■ SHIPPING
DP World’s profit rises
Global port operator DP World says its profit rose 17 percent in the first half of the year as it saw signs that trade levels were picking up. The cargo company reported first-half earnings of US$$219.2 million, up from US$187.7 million during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 5 percent to US$$1.46 billion. The port company, which runs 50 marine terminals on six continents, says the rise is partly a reflection of increased container cargo trade.
■ SHIPPING
Maersk reports net profit
Danish container shipping and oil group AP Moller-Maersk A/S yesterday reported a net profit of 14.16 billion Danish kroner (US$2.45 billion) for the first half of the year, citing higher freight rates and volumes for its container shipping activities. The result was up from a loss of 3.02 billion kroner in the same period last year. Revenues jumped 20 percent to 153.53 billion kroner from 127.53 billion kroner in the first six months of last year. The Copenhagen-based group said the container shipping market had been “surprisingly positive” because of stronger activity in global trade.
■ AVIATION
SAS AB’s losses narrow
Scandinavian airline group SAS AB saw its losses narrow in the second quarter and said it would have swung back to profit if it weren’t for the ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano. SAS made a net loss of 502 million Swedish kronor (US$68 million) in the April-June quarter, compared with a loss of 1.05 billion kronor a year earlier. The Stockholm-based company said that it would have posted a profit of more than 400 million kronor if the ash cloud had not paralyzed air travel across Europe in April. Revenue was 9.98 billion kronor, down from 12.2 billion kronor in the second quarter of last year.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2