■Global growth
IMF issues warning on war
A war in Iraq may cut the pace of global economic growth in half from last year by reducing investment and consumer spending, an International Monetary Fund official said. Growth may fall to as little as 1.5 percent from 3 percent last year, Rogerio Zandamela, the IMF's representative in Brazil, said during a conference on the world's economy. Without a war, global growth may accelerate to as much as 3.5 percent this year, Zandamela said, citing preliminary statistics. The IMF will release its World Economic Outlook in April. The estimate, which comes as the US tries to line up support for a war to disarm Iraq, shows that the effects of a conflict may spread beyond the Middle East, hurting Latin America and other developing regions most, Zandamela said.
■ Stock deals
SK Group investigated
SK, South Korea's third-largest industrial group, is being investigated for possible illegal stock transactions, prosecutors said. Group Vice Chairman Chey Tae Won is suspected of insider trading of shares in a group-owned hotel, the Seoul District Prosecutor's Office said in a faxed statement. Prosecutors banned 17 SK Group executives, including Chey, from leaving the country, Dong-a Ilbo newspaper and other media reports said. "Prosecutors came in yesterday and seized a lot of documents," said Kim Man Ki, a spokesman for SK group. On March 26, Chey received 3.46 million shares, or 6.1 percent, of SK Corp in exchange for 3.26 million shares of the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel, making him the largest shareholder of SK Corp with a 6.2 percent stake, according to a company filing to regulators.
■ Production
China reports big increase
China's industrial production rose in January, outpacing the government estimate for last year, as a growing middle class bought more cars and mobile phones. Production grew 14.8 percent from a year earlier, following a 14.9 percent rise in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. The State Economic Trade Commission forecasts it will rise by about a tenth this year."It is very encouraging that the growth was in high-end products such as mobile phones and electronics," said Gloria Ho, an economist with Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong. "Mainland industry is moving up the value-added chain." Growing industrial production is helping create jobs and boost incomes in Chinese cities, Asia's fastest-growing major economy. Average income per person rose to 32,258 yuan (US$3,900) in Shanghai last year and 22,648 yuan in Beijing.
■ Factory orders
Germany sees a decline
Orders placed with companies in the German manufacturing sector fell by 4.4 percent in December, the Bundesbank calculated on Tuesday, an even steeper decline than the preliminary estimate of 4.1 percent released earlier this month. On Feb. 6, preliminary data published by the Economy and Labor Ministry in Berlin showed that manufacturing orders fell by 4.1 percent in December, more than wiping out the tentative gains seen the previous month. The Bundesbank said the decline was a sharp drop for demand for German-made goods abroad. Export orders plunged by 9.2 percent in December from November, while domestic orders were nearly stable, slipping only by 0.3 percent.
Agencies
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MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
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