■ Banking
Citigroup buys finance unit
Citigroup Inc has agreed to acquire Washington Mutual Inc's Washington Mutual finance unit for US$1.25 billion, reports said Tuesday. Citigroup, the world's leading provider of financial services, said that acquiring the finance business of Washington Mutual would add to profits next year. In a news release Monday, it also said acquiring Washington Mutual Finance accelerates growth of its CitiFinancial business, which offers direct consumer instalment loans and real estate secured loans and sells insurance. Washington Mutual, based in Tampa, Florida, had assets of US$4.1 billion as of Sept. 30. The companies expect the deal will close in the first quarter, following customary regulatory approvals.
■ Macroeconomics
Singapore raises production
Singapore churned out more pharmaceuticals and electronics last month, pushing industrial production higher year-on-year for the third straight month, the government said yesterday. Manufacturing expanded by 19.3 percent last month from a year earlier, following 6.2 percent on-year growth in September, the Economic Development Board said in a statement. Singapore's manufacturing sector is growing again after the economy contracted 3.8 percent on year in the second quarter, because of the SARS outbreak. Electronics output expanded 12.7 percent on year from a 10.9 percent expansion in September. Companies produced more semiconductor and data storage devices, but output of computer peripherals fell for a third straight month, the statement said.
■ Trade
China blasts US tariffs
China said seven US anti-dumping cases this year against Chinese products ranging from televisions to furniture have affected US$1.6 billion of goods and damaged trade ties between the two countries. Washington's decision on Monday to impose tariffs of as much as 46 percent on color television imports from China "violates WTO" principles, China's commerce ministry said in a statement. The ruling came a week after the US imposed limits on some Chinese textile imports. China will engage its US counterparts to defend the interests of its television makers, the ministry said in its statement. The US ruling is "unfair" toward China's manufacturers and would affect more than US$450 million of Chinese goods, the ministry said.
■ Airlines
Qantas outlines strategy
Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd said yesterday it would base its new no-frills airline, to be launched next year, in Melbourne. Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the new airline would eventually employ about 1,000 people in the capital of Victoria state. "While the new low-cost carrier is good news for the whole Australian tourism industry, today's announcement means that Qantas will further expand its commitment to the Victorian economy and Victorian tourism, building on a partnership that has been in place for more than 60 years," he said. Qantas approved the low fares airline last month after deliberating for more than 12 months. It forms a key plank of Qantas' response to the challenge from British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin Blue, which has captured almost 30 percent of the Australian domestic market since its launch in 2001.
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
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
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
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