■ FINANCE
China buys Japanese bonds
China bought ¥583.1 billion (US$6.9 billion) in Japanese bonds in July, Japan’s finance ministry said yesterday, as Beijing continues to ramp up purchases of Japanese debt. The figure counts long-term government bonds as well as medium and short-term bonds issued by the public and private sectors. The figure was higher than the ¥456.7 billion worth of securities purchased in June. China has sought to diversify its vast investments away from the dollar and Europe since the onset of the financial crisis.
■ TRADE
Japan account surplus rises
Japan’s current account surplus rose for the first time in three months in July, boosted by increased trade with other Asian nations, government data showed yesterday. The surplus in the current account — the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world — went up by 26.1 percent from a year earlier to ¥1.676 trillion in July, the finance ministry said. The figure reversed an 18.2 percent drop in June and beat economists’ forecast for a rise of around 13 percent. The trade surplus more than doubled to ¥916.1 billion, up 110 percent year-on-year, with exports rising 24.7 percent against a 15.7 percent increase in imports.
■TRADE
German exports dip slightly
Official data show that German exports dipped by 1.5 percent in July compared with the previous month, but were still up a strong 18.7 over the same month last year. The monthly drop reported by the Federal Statistical Office yesterday followed two months of big gains. Germany exported goods and services worth 83 billion euros (US$106 billion) in July. Imports totaled 69.5 billion euros — down 2.2 percent on the month but 24.9 percent higher than a year earlier. Germany’s foreign trade surplus narrowed to 13.5 billion euros from 14.2 billion euros in June.
■ PETROLEUM
Dana says worth 18% more
Dana Petroleum PLC, the UK explorer subject to a hostile takeover from Korea National Oil Corp, said it’s worth 18 percent more than the state-owned explorer is offering before it agreed to acquire Suncor Energy Inc assets in the UK North Sea. Dana is valued at £2.12 (US$3.26) a share, based on an independent expert’s asset valuations using the average analyst forecast oil price, the Aberdeen, Scotland-based explorer said yesterday in a statement. That would value the company at £1.96 billion before it agreed to pay about £240 million to Suncor’s Petro-Canada UK Ltd for production hubs in the UK.
■ BEVERAGES
Foster’s rejects A$2.7bn
Australian drinks giant Foster’s yesterday knocked back an offer worth up to A$2.7 billion (US$2.46 billion) from a private equity firm for its wine assets, but said it would consider other bids. Foster’s said it had received the unsolicited offer for Treasury Wine Estates — the group’s underperforming wine arm — which involved a cash consideration of A$2.3 billion to A$2.7 billion. “The board considers the indicative proposed value range ... significantly undervalues Treasury Wine Estates and its future prospects,” it said in a statement, without revealing the bidder. “However, the board will continue to consider any proposal that is in the best interests of shareholders.”
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique