■ Public Debt
China's debt hits record
China issued a record US$76 billion in domestic treasury bonds this year, according to new government data that highlight its reliance on debt to stimulate economic growth. Treasury bond sales were up nearly 6 percent from the 2002 total of US$72 billion, according to Tuesday's report by the state-backed National Debt Association of China. However, 2003 sales fell short of the government's target of US$77 billion. China's bond sales have set new record highs every year since 1994, financing massive government investment in roads, power plants and other infrastructure and keeping millions of people employed. The money has helped to buoy growth of about 8 percent a year and create new jobs as tens of millions of people are thrown out of work amid cutbacks in state industry. Bond sales in 2003 outpaced even China's massive inflows of foreign investment, which were expected to top US$50 billion for a second straight year.
■ Gambling
Accor ponders team-up
French leisure and tourism group Accor SA is examining a possible tie-up between its casinos arm and Groupe Lucien Barriere, France's No. 2 gaming company, a source close to the discussions said Tuesday. The source spoke on condition of anonymity after newspaper Le Monde reported that Barriere and Accor Casinos were soon to merge to create France's biggest gaming operator. The paper reported that the merged company would control 35 casinos accounting for about one-third of the lion (US$3.18 billion) revenue generated annually by France's 180 licensed gambling houses. The source said the two sides were working out the terms of a deal to "create synergies and develop capacity" for the combined entity. Groupe Partouche is currently France's biggest casino operator, with a 27 percent market share.
■ Hotels
Le Meridien purchased
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc said Tuesday they have taken control of British hotel group Le Meridien for less than US$1.3 billion. Lehman is taking over the 126-hotel chain's outstanding senior debt of US$1.3 billion at a discount. Starwood is funding US$200 million through a high-yield junior participation in the debt. As part of the funding, Lehman and Starwood have agreed to negotiate a recapitalization of Le Meridien in the coming months. Lehman, the New York-based financial services company, already owned about US$354 million of Le Meridien's debt. Starwood, which is based in White Plains, New York, owns or manages hundreds of hotels worldwide and its brand names include Sheraton, Westin, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis and W Hotels.
■ Macroeconomics
Goh gives holiday speech
Singapore's economy expanded 3.7 percent from a year earlier in the final quarter of 2003, lifting full year growth to 0.8 percent, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in a New Year message to the nation. GDP expanded for the second straight quarter, following 1.7 percent growth in the September quarter. The median forecast of seven economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for 4.5 percent growth between October and December. Singapore's growth slowed in 2003 from a 2.2 percent expansion in 2002 because the war in Iraq slowed trade, and the outbreak of SARS in March emptied hotels and shopping malls.
‘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
Thirty Taiwanese firms, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), yesterday launched a silicon photonics industry alliance, aiming to accelerate the medium’s development and address the energy efficiency of artificial intelligence (AI) devices like data centers. As the world is ushering in a new AI era with tremendous demand for computing power and algorithms, energy consumption is emerging as a critical issue, TSMC vice president of integrated interconnect and packaging business C.K. Hsu (徐國晉) told a media briefing in Taipei. To solve this issue, it is essential to introduce silicon photonics and copackaged optics (CPO)
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
GRAFT PROBE: Critics questioned Ko claiming he did not know about the Core Pacific floor area ratio issue until this year, citing a 2021 video in which he was asked about it Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released without bail early yesterday, while his deputy during his tenure as Taipei mayor was detained and held incommunicado after being questioned since Friday over graft allegations related to a shopping center redevelopment project. Prosecutors on Saturday filed a request with the Taipei District Court to officially detain Ko and former Taipei deputy mayor Pong Cheng-sheng (彭振聲) over allegations surrounding the redevelopment of Core Pacific City, also known as Living Mall (京華城購物中心). The court yesterday determined that the evidence provided by prosecutors was insufficient to justify the detention of Ko and ordered his
RSS