■HEALTHCARE
Crucell in sale talks
Crucell NV, the Leiden-based biotech company, says it is in advanced talks to be acquired by Johnson & Johnson of the US, the world’s largest health care products maker. Crucell says Johnson & Johnson, which already owns a 17.9 percent stake in the Dutch company, will offer about 1.75 billion euros (US$2.29 billion) in cash for the remainder of Crucell, or 24.75 euros per share. That’s a 58 percent premium to Crucell’s closing price on Thursday of 15.70 euros. Crucell makes vaccines and sells a line of cells widely used as a platform for developing vaccines.
■TECHNOLOGY
Oracle revenues jump 48%
Oracle Corp on Thursday reported that its recent quarter profit climbed to US$1.35 billion as revenues rocketed 48 percent to US$7.5 billion. Profit for the quarter that ended Aug. 31 amounted to US$0.27 per share of stock, 18 percent more than was seen in the same quarter a year earlier. Freshly hired Oracle president Mark Hurd predicted that the money-making momentum would continue with the company next week unveiling two new high-end business computer systems.
■TELECOMS
TDC to sell Swiss unit
Danish telecom group TDC said yesterday it had agreed to sell its Swiss offshoot Sunrise to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for 3.3 billion Swiss francs (US$3.3 billion). “Today CVC and TDC have signed an agreement on selling TDC’s Swiss subsidiary Sunrise to the private equity firm CVC,” TDC said in a statement. The deal should be completed in the fourth quarter, it said.
■COMPUTERS
Dell counting on China
Dell Inc is making a US$100 billion bet that China will remain one of the fastest-growing markets for personal computers over the next decade. Dell said on Thursday it plans to open a manufacturing, sales and service center in Chengdu next year that could eventually employ more than 3,000 workers. The new operations center is a response to rapid growth in business in Western China, Dell said.
■AVIATION
Cebu Pacific to sell shares
Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific is aiming to raise up to US$725 million to buy new aircraft when it lists almost a third of its shares next month, the country’s stock exchange said yesterday. The airline’s holding company, conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, has applied to sell about 32.19 billion pesos (US$725 million), or 31 percent, worth of its shares starting on Oct. 8. It said 70 percent of those shares have been put aside for sale in the US as it prepares for a roadshow at the end of this month, while the rest is to be offered to local investors. Cebu Pacific began flying in 1996. It planned to publicly list in 2008, but the global financial crisis forced it to temporarily shelve the idea.
■ECONOMY
FedEx cutting 1,700 US jobs
FedEx Corp said on Thursday that the global economic recovery remains uneven. While strength in international shipments is boosting net income, FedEx is cutting 1,700 jobs in its US freight business to offset losses there. The world’s second-largest package delivery company earned or US$1.20 per share in the fiscal first-quarter that ended last month, compared with US$181 million, or US$0.58 per share a year ago. Revenue rose 18 percent to US$9.46 billion. Projections for the second quarter and full year fell shy of Wall Street expectations.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from