■ Semiconductors
Japan begins Hynix probe
The Japanese government yesterday began an investi-gation into chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc's request to impose tariffs on Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said. Elpida Memory, a closely held venture between NEC Corp and Hitachi Ltd, asked the government in June to impose tariffs on Hynix's chips, claiming the company is subsidized by the South Korean government. "We've concluded the case has sufficient proof to let us start investigation," Tani-gaki said at a press confer-ence in Tokyo. Hynix, the world's third-largest maker of computer memory chips, already faces a 44 percent tariff from the US and a 35 percent duty from the EU.
■ Insurance
MetLife buys stake in SEI
MetLife Inc, the second-largest US insurer, said its South Korean unit bought a stake in SEI Asset Korea, paving the way for a move into the country's US$144 billion mutual fund market. MetLife Insurance Co. of Korea signed a contract to buy the 34 percent stake from Seoul-based Tong Yang Investment Bank for an undisclosed price, SEI Asset said in a statement. MetLife believes the stake purchase will "allow us to develop and distribute long-term savings and retirement benefit products to both individuals and corpora-tions," MetLife Korea chief executive Stuart Solomon said in the statement. Pennsylvania-based SEI Investments Co will remain SEI Asset Korea's biggest shareholder with a 50.1 percent stake while Interna-tional Finance Corp retains a 9.9 percent stake.
■ Banking
Banker charged with theft
A Citibank employee in Singapore has been charged with embezzling almost S$4.8 million (US$2.79 million) through the bank's computer system in what could be the biggest case of cyber theft in the city-state, the Straits Times reported yesterday. A district court on Friday charged senior executive William Ng Wee Lip, 38, with 104 violations of the Computer Misuse Act, the paper said. Ng allegedly transferred money from the bank's accounts between May 1996 and August last year to his own account and those of several others. He faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to S$50,000.
■ Automobiles
China accepts Ford's credit
The Ford Motor Co's credit arm has won preliminary approval to open up shop in China, the automaker said yesterday. The company said the China Banking Regulatory Commission has approved the company's initial application to provide auto financing to consumers and some 100 Ford dealers across China. Ford Credit will make an initial invest-ment of US$60 million to establish its presence in the booming market. The Ford unit will go by the name Ford Automotive Finance in China.
■ Infrastructure
Beijing invests in toilets
Beijing plans to boost investment to build more lavatories and keep them stocked with toilet paper, the China Daily said yester-day. The city government, trying to polish its image as it gears up to host the 2008 Olympic Games, pledged to invest more than 100 million yuan (US$12 million) a year into modernizing its latrine infrastructure, the paper said. Under the new cam-paign, lavatories must be equipped with toilet paper, soap, hand dryers and access for disabled people.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
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