■ Economics
S Korea praises China
South Korea's highest economic official voiced cautious optimism yesterday over China's efforts to rein in its overheating economy, saying the country's domestic demand would remain robust. Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai said South Korea should not overreact to China's "pre-emptive" measures to cool down its economy. "Such measures are designed to prevent a crash-landing," he said. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's (溫家寶) remarks last week that Beijing would take strong measures to cool down the economy sparked a sell-off across the region last week. Lee, however, said preventing sharp growth in China could help South Korea's economy in the long run. "Yet we must not be complacent because of our high dependence on the Chinese market," he told reporters.
■ Plasma displays
LG raises investment
South Korea's LG Electronics unveiled a US$580 million investment plan yesterday to strengthen its global position in plasma display panels (PDP). LG said it would spend 666 billion won by the second quarter of next year to raise its monthly PDP production capacity to 285,000 modules from 165,000. LG, the world's third largest PDP maker after Samsung SDI and Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display, aims to increase its global market share to 30 percent by next year from last year's 18 percent in the sector. "This investment is to strengthen the PDP module business and attain the position of the world's largest largest producer," it said in a statement. Fujitsu has maintained its global leadership since it produced the world's first commercial 21-inch full-color PDP in 1992.
■ Beer
US brewer buys China stake
Anheuser-Busch said Sunday it is buying a 29 percent stake in a leading Chinese brewer, Harbin Brewery Group Limited, for US$139 million. Harbin, one of the oldest brewers in China, produces the Hapi beer brand. "Harbin fits our strategy of investing in leading companies in growth markets like China with good volume and profit growth potential," said Patrick Stokes, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch Cos, Inc. The deal marks Anheuser-Busch's second investment in a leading brewer in China. Since 1993, Anheuser-Busch has been a minority investor in Tsingtao Brewery Co, Ltd. The St. Louis brewer currently owns 9.9 percent of Tsingtao, and has an agreement to increase the ownership to 27 percent over the next several years. Anheuser-Busch equity investments include a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer.
■ Copyright
Microsoft releases software
Microsoft Corp is unveiling copyright protection software to allow rented songs or movies to be used on portable players, mobile phones and other devices. The company's latest "digital rights management" software, code-named Janus, was released yesterday. It will give songs and videos purchased through subscription services a sort of digital expiration date that works even when the data is transferred from a computer. The technology also protects the content against piracy. The goal is to make it easier for companies who want customers to rent songs or videos, rather than own them, to also let those users play back the content on portable players.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
OTHER OPTIONS: Given possible US intervention and Taiwanese counterattacks, China might opt to blockade Taiwan or take its outlying islands instead of an all-out invasion A US think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter invasion by China. In its report, Hellscape for Taiwan, published on Thursday, the Center for a New American Security said Taipei’s asymmetric defense approach — often described as a “porcupine strategy” — needs to evolve to keep pace with the growing capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The “hellscape” strategy involves saturating the air and waters around Taiwan with thousands of drones and other platforms capable of striking invading forces from multiple domains at once. Long-range
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