■ Telecoms
New phone for China market
Motorola Inc, the world's second-largest maker of cellular phones, said it will debut a new phone in China in the third quarter and introduce its so-called push-to- talk mobile service in the country this year. Motorola will introduce a phone that works on both the GSM and CDMA standards, using China Unicom Ltd and Verizon Communications as launch customers, said company president Mike Zafirovski. Also this year, China may become the 19th country in which Motorola sells its mobile service that allows users to talk at the push of a button rather than dialing a number. "The Global Phone will have high-tier capabilities, mostly geared toward the traveling business executive," Zafirovski told reporters in Beijing. "We'll be able to increase our market share here because we're one of the few players that actually have push-to-talk handsets."
■ Automobiles
New Chinese rules coming
China's long-awaited blueprint for the develop-ment of its auto industry, expected to be launched within days, will ease some planned restrictions for foreign vehicle manufac-turers while erecting others, state press said yesterday. As part of the new policy, the government would raise barriers to entry to one of China's fastest growing industries by insisting new projects must have a minimum investment of 2 billion yuan (US$240 mil-lion), the China Daily said. However, some measures previously included in the draft policy -- such as banning manufacturers from selling imported and domestically-made cars through the same channels -- have been dropped after protests from multina-tionals. Foreign branded cars made through joint ventures currently account for 90 percent of passenger car sales in China.
■ Aviation
Valuair seeking investors
Singapore's first budget airline, Valuair, is on the lookout for new investors as it beefs up its fledgling route network, a spokesman said yesterday. The company is also hopeful it will soon be able to secure landing rights in Jakarta, resolving an administrative dispute with Indonesian aviation authorities, spokesman Nilesh Pritam said. The dispute prevented the planned launch of Valuair's service to Jakarta earlier this month. Ticket sales on the route have been suspended. Valuair began operating May 1 and serves Bangkok and Hong Kong from Singapore. Nilesh said Valuair wants to add more routes by the end of the year, but did not name the planned destinations. "We're looking to fly to high density destinations that are about five hours away. We would like to fly to a few more by end of the year,"Pritam said. Valuair's first round of fund-raising raised S$33 million (US$19.4 million).
■ Automobiles
Fiat chairman dies
Fiat chairman Umberto Agnelli, who helped lead his family's vast Turin-based automaker out of hard
times and into better financial shape, has died of cancer little more than a year after taking the com-pany's top position, a Fiat spokesman said yesterday. He was 69. He died late Thursday, Fiat spokesman Raffaello Porro said. The company acknowledged that Agnelli was undergoing serious treatment for cancer last month. Agnelli, who was long sidelined in his family's auto empire, got his chance to take over after his elder brother Giovanni Agnelli died in January last year.
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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