■ Banking
Chinese listings in doubt
Plans for the Bank of China and China Construction Bank, two of the country's four largest lenders, to list on markets overseas were thrown into doubt, a press report said yesterday. The two banks, beset by corruption scandals, accounting issues and weak corporate governance, looked increasingly unlikely to attempt to list on international markets this year, the Standard newspaper reported, citing sources close to the banks. The two banks were not yet in a position to launch their Initial Public Offerings (IPO) as they need to resolve a host of outstanding issues, such as existing bad debt and new soured loans which were expected to surface, the report said. Meanwhile, BOC executive assistant president Zhu Min, who is at the center of the bank's restructuring plans, told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland over the weekend, that the bank needed "to clean house" first before any overseas listing.
■ Printing
Kodak in talks to buy Creo
The Eastman Kodak Co is in talks to acquire Creo Inc, a Canadian printing technology company, for about US$1 billion, executives close to the negotiations said over the weekend. Exact terms of the proposed deal could not be learned. The executives cautioned that it was still possible the talks could fall apart. Creo is under attack from dissident shareholders who are seeking to oust its management. The deal would be the latest in a string of acquisitions by Kodak, which is based in Rochester, New York. Two years ago, Kodak set aside US$3 billion for purchases, and US$1 billion remains. Creo's board is being advised by Merrill Lynch over the possible sale of part or all of the company. Other companies that have been cited as possible bidders include Fuji Photo Film, Agfa-Gevaert, Hewlett-Packard and Electronics for Imaging Inc.
■ Economics
Malaysia to fund SMEs
Malaysia will set up a development bank to assist small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) this year, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday. "The banks at present are focusing their attention on loan applications from big industries and the SMEs are having a problem getting capital," Abdullah said. "The SMEs require greater attention in the form of capital and loans and the setting up of an SME bank will give them the opportunity for growth," he said. Abdullah gave no further details, saying these would be worked out by the Treasury.
■ Biomedicine
Singapore's plan pays off
Singapore's strategy to develop a regional biomedical hub is paying dividends with the industry growing 33 percent last year and worth more than S$15 billion (US$9.2 billion), the government said yesterday. Output by the biomedical sciences industry was worth S$15.8 billion last year with the fast-growing pharmaceuticals sector making up 88 percent of the market, the Economic Development Board said. The yearly output far exceeded the government's target set in 2000 for the industry to be worth some S$12 billion dollars by the end of this year. The board said close to 15 international companies had established research and development facilities at Singapore's Biopolis center.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS