■ 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.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
‘WORLD’S LOSS’: Taiwan’s exclusion robs the world of the benefits it could get from one of the foremost practitioners of disease prevention and public health, Minister Chiu said Taiwan should be allowed to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an irreplaceable contributor to global health and disease prevention efforts, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. He made the comment at a news conference in Taipei, hours before a Taiwanese delegation was to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, seeking to meet with foreign representatives for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the WHA, the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting, which would be held from Monday next week to May 27. As of yesterday, Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation. Taiwan has much to offer to the international community’s
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
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