■ Banking
Boss warns of bubble
A bank boss has warned that property prices in Hong Kong are rising too fast and could be heading for a bubble, a news report said yesterday. HSBC chairman David Eldon spoke out after a turnaround which has seen property prices in the territory rebound 20 percent since August. "Sentiment may be running ahead of fundamentals," the South China Morning Post quoted Eldon as saying. "If [speculators] pay far too much and if they are going to ride property prices up too quickly, I don't think it's a good thing for Hong Kong," he warned. Eldon's comments were supported by Liu Chong Hing Bank senior general manager Brian Cheung. "I really feel housing prices are rising too fast. The recent surge is unhealthy," Cheugn told the newspaper.
■ IPR Protection
China opens patent Web site
Chinese inventors have a new, electronic option for registering and advertising patents. Under foreign pressure to stamp out rampant piracy of patents and other intellectual property, the government launched the site in collaboration with state television. The site -- www.cipmun.net -- is in Chinese only. Launched Tuesday, it is crammed with information on patents, news and a patent search service. Sponsors include the State Intellectual Property Office, China Central Television and local television stations. Among the patented products listed on the site Wednesday: A bicycle with solid tires (no more hunting down a sidewalk repair stall for a bicycle pump). A voice-controlled cellphone advertised as "convenient for the elderly and disabled." A biodegradable plastic said to be "kind to the environment."
■ Privatization
Singapore to sell firms
Singapore's government will this year sell stakes in some state-controlled companies that aren't of strategic importance, Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a televised interview. The government said two years ago it plans to sell companies that aren't strategic to Singapore in terms of being a critical resource or having the potential to expand beyond the city-state. It didn't specify which companies or say when those sales would be made. "The companies are no longer relevant to our mission," said Lee, 52, who has been named as a successor by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong. Lee declined to name the companies, saying it may hurt his "bargaining position." Last month, Temasek Holdings Pte, the government's investment arm, reduced its stake in Singapore Telecommunications to as little as 61.5 percent, from more than 67 percent.
■ Electronics
Device sales down 29%
Sales of handheld devices in the Asia-Pacific outside of Japan fell 29 percent on year to 1.59 million units last year, hurt by weaker demand in China where consumers now prefer products like digital cameras, a report said yesterday. "The sheer size of China's market dragged down the entire region as locally produced low-end handhelds fell out of favor there," said Manny Lopez, IDC's regional senior research analyst for personal systems. "But the silver lining is that more sophisticated products are continuing to sell across the region. Devices that go beyond just basic organizer features, such as multimedia and Wi-Fi, are helping to stir interest in the market."
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
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