■ 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.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
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