■ Tourism
Visitors flock to Hong Kong
Hong Kong has seen a record 15.75 million visitors in the first nine months of the year, more than for the whole of last year, tourism officials said yesterday. The former British colony has seen a surge of 52 percent year-on-year in visitor arrivals and is on course to book more than 20 million visitors for this year. The sharp rise is aided by the easing of restrictions on visitors from China coming to the territory. Visitors from China now account for more than half of tourist arrivals in Hong Kong, with 8.9 million crossing the border from January through September.
■ Computers
Lenovo bids for IBM plant
Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想) is in talks to buy IBM China Co Ltd's notebook and server factory in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, the Beijing Morning Post said, citing unidentified people close to both companies. The companies could agree on the transaction as early as the end of this year, the report said. At issue is the selling price, which the paper reported is about US$90 million. Beijing-based Lenovo hopes to strengthen its notebook sales by acquiring IBM technology through the acquisition, the report said. A decision will be made no later than March, the paper said. Officials of Lenovo, China's biggest maker of personal computers, didn't answer phone calls seeking comment. IBM officials were also not immediately available for comment.
■ Economics
Japan data show contraction
Japan's index of leading economic indicators fell below the boom-or-bust line in September for the first time in 18 months, the government said yesterday, suggesting the world's second-largest economy may be slowing. The leading index stood at 30 in September, below the key 50 level and down from 72.2 in August, the Cabinet Office said. A level above 50 indicates economic expansion over the next three to six months while a reading below 50 suggests contraction. Of the leading indices, industrial output inventories, the Tokyo Stock Exchange index and the outlook for small firms remained weak while final demand inventories, new job offers and durable goods shipments were negative. The coincident index, which measures the current state of the economy, stood at 22.2 in September, below 50 for the second consecutive month. Indices for industrial output and large-lot electricity use remained negative while commercial sales turned weaker in September.
■ Telecoms
Verizon to buy air licenses
Verizon Communications Inc, the largest US telephone company, agreed to pay US$3 billion for airwave licenses from NextWave Telecom Inc so its mobile-phone division can send more calls in 23 cities, including New York. Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 US mobile-phone operator, will acquire the assets as NextWave exits Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move will help Verizon Wireless expand in an area that covers 73 million people, the Bedminster, New Jersey-based company said in a statement. NextWave's licenses will help Verizon Wireless offer a wider range of mobile-phone services, including video and Internet access, after adding a record number of subscribers in the third quarter. Chief Executive Dennis Strigl is upgrading his network and bolstering call capacity to win back the No. 1 spot in the US$90 billion US cellphone market from Cingular Wireless LLC.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
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