■ South Korea
Bad credit-card debt rises
Delinquencies at LG Card Co and seven other South Korean credit-card companies rose to a record 13.5 percent in November, the fifth straight monthly increase, because of poor risk management, the nation's regulator said. The ratio of overall card loans overdue by more than a month rose from 11.7 percent at the end of October to 7.7 trillion won (US$6.43 billion), the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement, citing preliminary figures. The ratio was 8.9 percent on June 30. "Credit card companies cut their lending ceiling as financial woes deepened at LG Card and other credit card companies," the agency said. "As such, defaulters couldn't use different credit cards to pay their card bills."
■ Semiconductors
Sales expected to rise
Worldwide semiconductor sales will rise by 18 percent to US$188.8 billion next year on stronger-than-expected demand for personal computers and mobile phones, market researcher IDC said. In April the company forecast 16 percent growth in sales next year. From this year to 2008, the semiconductor market will grow at an annual growth rate of 12.5 percent, rising to US$282 billion in 2008 from US$160 billion this year, IDC said in an e-mailed statement. China, the world's largest market for mobile phones and the second largest for personal computers, will be the main contributor to demand for electronic devices that use chips, IDC said. "Chinese semiconductor demand currently represents over one quarter of the US$60 billion total for Asia Pacific and will account for almost half of the entire region by the end of our forecast period," IDC vice president Mario Morales said in the statement.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
The High Court yesterday overturned a Taipei District Court decision to release Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and sent the case back to the lower court. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Saturday questioned Ko amid a probe into alleged corruption involving the Core Pacific City development project during his time as Taipei mayor. Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心), was a shopping mall in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) that has since been demolished. On Monday, the Taipei District Court granted a second motion by Ko’s attorney to release him without bail, a decision the prosecutors’ office appealed
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS