■FOOD & BEVERAGES
Burger King in sale talks
Burger King, the second-largest US hamburger chain, is in talks with private-equity firms for a potential sale, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Among the interested firms is Britain’s 3i Group PLC, the Journal said, noting that the talks had already lasted several weeks and that their status was unclear. Burger King last week reported a drop of 2.3 percent in its global sales for its 2010 fiscal year, compared to a 1.2 percent gain during the same period last year.
■MEDIA
Paper could sell for US$1
A memo from an adviser to the company that owns the financially struggling Washington Times says the paper could be sold for US$1 to a company affiliated with the Unification Church. The paper was founded in 1982 by Unification Church leader the Reverend Sun Myung-moon and is often viewed as a conservative alternative to the much larger Washington Post. Moon’s son and News World Communications currently own the paper. In the memo released on Tuesday, Michael Marshall advises that the paper could be sold to News World Media Development, a firm headed by one of Moon’s allies.
■CONSTRUCTION
Doosan wins Saudi order
South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction said yesterday it has won a US$1.46 billion order to build a huge water desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The company said in a statement it had received a letter from Saline Water Conversion Corp, a Saudi state body, confirming that it had secured the deal. The plant at Ras Az Zawr will provide drinking water to the capital Riyadh and will be completed in January 2014. It will produce 1 million tonnes of water a day, enough for 3.5 million people.
■MEDIA
Vivendi reports profit boost
French media and telecom group Vivendi yesterday reported a 6.6 percent rise in net profits to 1.26 billion euros (US$1.59 billion) for the first half of the year. The firm, which has interests in television, telecommunications and music, said its sales were up 6.1 percent to 13.9 billion euros for the period. It also raised its revenue outlook for the year. Vivendi, which controls video game giant Activision Blizzard, Universal Music Group, French telecom giant SFR and entertainment firm Canal Plus, saw its net earnings slide 68.1 percent last year.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Trade surplus forecast rises
South Korea yesterday sharply raised its forecast for this year’s trade surplus to US$32 billion from US$20 billion, following better-than-expected exports in the first half. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement it now expects exports to rise 26 percent this year to US$458 billion and imports to increase 32 percent to US$426 billion. The country last month recorded a trade surplus of US$2.08 billion, much smaller than the previous month’s US$5.51 billion.
■ THAILAND
Inflation still increasing
Thailand said yesterday that inflation hit 3.3 percent last month — the 11th straight monthly rise — as the kingdom’s economy recovers from the global downturn. The figure also showed consumer prices lifted 0.23 percent from July, when the rate stood at 3.4 percent year on year. Inflation so far this year stands at an average of 3.5 percent, commerce ministry permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a