■ Finance
China needs time for reform
China will need another five to 10 years before the government will liberalize the country's interest and exchange rates, the China Securities Journal said, citing a researcher at the central bank's monetary committee. Reform to China's exchange rates will have to move in tandem with liberalization of interest rates, which are fixed by the central bank, the newspaper said, quoting from an interview with Li Yang. The central bank will begin the reforms by first widening the range in which saving and lending rates can be set, and by giving state-owned banks greater freedom to set rates, Li said. China's state-owned banks should also improve their risk management practices, and provide a wider range of financial services before they are allowed to freely set interest rates, Li said.
■ Finance
GE to start bad-loan venture
General Electric Co, the world's largest non-bank financial company, wants to set up a venture to collect bad loans for South Korean companies, the country's industry watchdog said. General Electric's financial service subsidiary, Global Financial Restructuring, applied to team with South Korea's Seoul Guarantee Insurance Co and Samsung Capital Co to set up a joint credit collection company, the Financial Supervisory Service said on its Web site. The alliance may give General Electric access to a pool of bad loans at Seoul Guarantee, a 35-year-old company that provides guarantee services to individuals and companies. The US firm will get 30 percent of the proposed venture, Seoul Guarantee a 51 percent stake and Samsung Capital the remaining 19 percent. The proposed venture plans to have 10 billion won (US$8.4 million) in capital.
■ Appliances
Whirlpool sues LG
Whirlpool Corp, the biggest US appliance maker, filed a patent-infringement lawsuit seeking to block South Korean-based rival LG Electronics Inc from selling washing machines for clothing in the US. LG Electronics introduced a line of washing machines that infringe two patents, Whirlpool said in a statement. Benton Harbor, Michigan- based Whirlpool sued in federal court in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Whirlpool is trying to protect sales of its fastest-growing model, the US$1,400 Duet washer and dryer set, which relies on the system in dispute. Major appliance shipments in the US are expected to grow "moderately" in the second half over last year and the Duet sales are credited with helping to boost second- quarter profit by 49 percent.
■ Auto industry
BMW bemoans launch costs
BMW, the German maker of luxury cars, said yesterday that costs connected with the launch and market of new models ate into earnings in the second quarter of the current year, but the group was still hoping to post stable full-year earnings. BMW said in a statement its net profit amounted to 568 million euros (US$642 million) in the period from April to June, a drop of 9.7 percent from the figure for the corresponding period a year earlier. Pre-tax profit before extraordinary items fell by 7.2 percent to 947 million euros in the three-month period, BMW said. "That was due to the high level of expenditure for the product and market offensive, covering the relevant structure and launch costs for the introduction of new models," BMW explained.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
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