■ 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.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
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