■ Automakers
Mazda to boost production
Japan's Mazda Motor Corp will double annual car production to 45,000 units in China next year from this year's projection, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said yesterday. Japan's fifth-largest car maker plans to finish building new production lines next month at its Chinese partner, Faw Hainan Motor Co, at a total cost of ?2 billion (US$16 million), the business daily said. With the new production lines, Faw Hainan, based in Haikou, Hainan island, will raise output of Mazda's Premacy minivan and Familia subcompact to 30,000 units next year from 22,000 this year, it said. Mazda will newly entrust to China FAW Group Corp's subsidiary production of 15,000 units of Atenza midsize models starting next March, the newspaper said.
■ Trade
Minnesota eyes China
Minnesota's expanding agricultural trade with China will provide a US$428 million lift for the state's economy and generate more than 5,000 new jobs by 2010, according to a new study from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Minnesota exports to China will generate 3,600 new jobs and an additional US$307 million in economic activity by 2005, the study found. Last year, the state's agriculture exports to China topped US$149 million -- roughly 6 percent of the state total. The economic impact of the exports was US$285 million, and the exports supported more than 3,000 jobs.
■ Real estate
Malaysia still struggling
Analysts have warned that Malaysia's sluggish property market would remain weak in the near future with the government saying a shocking 10 billion ringgit (US$2.6 billion) worth of office space remains unoccupied. Although interest rates are low, a declining stock market and cautious consumer sentiment, among other factors weigh down the sector, they said. Nizam Idris, Singapore-based regional economist with IDEAglobal market research company attributed the glut to steady supply met by weak demand and a fragile economy. "There is still a lot of supply overhang. Demand has not been strong," he said. Nizam said the right step forward would be to cut supply but there was not much the government could do to bolster demand. "People are worried about the economy. Consumers are cautious and delaying big capital expenditure like buying cars and houses," he said.
■ Internet
EBay indicates hot toys
EBay Inc has become a bellwether of what's hot in the toy market, with retailers and analysts keeping an eye on the Web auction site to divine the bestsellers in the holiday season, the Washington Post reported. Most US retailers get more than half their annual sales in the months leading up to Christmas, and the site helps them understand a consumer's willingness to pay for certain items, the Post said. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Toy `R' Us Inc. Target Corp, KB Toys and Kmart Corp have the bulk of toy sales. While they don't consider EBay a major rival, they do keep tabs on it, according to the newspaper. The retailers cut prices on the hot toys to attract customers, said Greg Ahearn of toysrus.com Consumers go to EBay searching for hard-to-find items. If all the winning bids were added up, their value could reach US$1 billion by the end of the year.
Agencies
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
‘UNITED FRONT’: Some Taiwanese industry leaders had not initially planned to attend, but later agreed to do so after Beijing threatened them, a source said China hopes to rebuild its supply chain by wooing Taiwanese businesses at this year’s Cross-Strait CEO Summit (CSCS) to be held today in the Chinese city of Xiamen, a source said yesterday. This year’s summit would focus on “building a cross-strait industrial chain in the new era and promoting cross-strait economic integration and development,” promotional materials for the event said. The aim is to encourage Taiwanese businesspeople who have exited the Chinese market to return and invest there as a means of countering various technology export controls that China has been encountering, the source said. Former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and
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