■ Banking
Counter-bid for Abbey
British bank HBOS is considering a surprise counter-bid for Abbey National, which last week accepted a takeover from Spain's Santander Central Hispano, a report said yesterday. HBOS is pondering an offer slightly over the ?8.9 billion (13.5 billion euros, US$16.4 billion) that Abbey agreed with the Spanish group, the Sunday Telegraph reported. An unnamed banker told the paper that HBOS had a dedicated team looking into whether or not to bid for Abbey, like HBOS a home loan specialist. "There's a good chance it will happen, but it's not definite," the banker told the paper. Another source, identified as an executive "with a close knowledge of HBOS," said Abbey National shareholders had sent a clear message that they wanted to see the counter-bid happen.
■ Trade
S. Korea's surplus hits high
South Korea's trade surplus hit an all-time monthly high of US$2.98 billion last month on the back of robust exports of autos and other key items, official data showed yesterday. It was the 16th straight month of surpluses, and the accu-mulated seven-month surplus soared to US$18.25 billion, the commerce, industry and energy ministry said in a preliminary report based on customs-cleared trade. Exports jumped 38.4 percent year-on-year to US$21.35 billion last month, while imports rose 23.3 percent to US$18.37 billion, it said. During the first half of the year, exports rose 38.4 percent from a year ago to US$144.65 billion and imports were up 25.4 percent at US$126.39 billion. "We expect slower growth of exports in the third quarter," trade ministry official Lee Key-hyung told reporters.
■ Telecom
NTT DoCoMo's profit sags
NTT DoCoMo Inc, the world's second-largest mobile-phone operator, said first-quarter profit fell 13 percent as it spent more to lure high-speed phone users. Net income fell to ?170.4 billion (US$1.52 billion), or ?3,507.28 a share, in the three months ended June 30, from ?196.8 billion, or 3,922.97 yen, a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said. Sales fell 2.5 percent to ?22 trillion yen. Company president Masao Nakamura is subsidizing handsets, offering flat-rate fees and increasing discounts to win back market share from KDDI Corp. The company spends ?10,000 more in commissions to retailers to attract users to its high-speed FOMA service than it does to win subscribers for older services.
■ Censorship
China fights Internet porn
China plans a multi-faceted approach to its fight against Internet porn, employing both high technology and sex education to stop young people from visiting lewd Web sites, state media said yesterday. The government has kicked off a massive campaign to weed out pornography from the country's rapidly growing Internet, but experts warn technology must be used to ensure a lasting effect, the Xinhua news agency reported. "Existing and developing technology should be sufficient to ensure the Chinese government's triumph in its campaign," an unnamed researcher with the state lab on national information security told Xinhua. Officials and experts, however, are also aware that half the country's Internet population of 87 million are people under the age of 24, and that many simply visit porn sites to learn about sex.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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