■ Trade Policy
Trade zone mooted
State-run economic thinktanks of South Korea and China agreed yesterday to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a free trade zone between the two Asian economies. The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and the Development Research Center, run by China's state council, signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing to launch the study until next year, to push for a free trade pact, KIEP said in a statement. Trade between China and South Korea, Asia's second and third largest economies, stood at US$79.4 billion last year, according to Seoul's foreign ministry data. China is South Korea's biggest trade partner. Seoul has also pushed for separate free trade deals with Asia's biggest economy Japan and Singapore.
■ Trade Policy
India, MERCOSUR cut tariffs
India and South America's MERCOSUR trading bloc signed a deal Saturday slashing tariffs on more than 900 products to boost trade between the two sides, the government said. Under the agreement, which comes into effect immediately, India will give tariff preference to 450 products and MERCOSUR nations will give tariff concessions on 452 items, an Indian government statement said. The concessions will range from 10 percent to 100 percent, the statement said. Mercosur comprises Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Bolivia and Chile are associate members. Trade between India and MERCOSUR reached US$1.5 billion last year. India mainly exported drugs, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, transport equipment, cotton, readymade garments, dyes and coal tar to MERCOSUR, while it mainly imported edible oils, ferrous ores, metal scrap and non-electrical machinery from the trading bloc.
■ Television
Fuji may sell new shares
Fuji Television Network Inc, Japan's biggest broadcaster, may sell new shares to designated investors to fend off a possible takeover attempt by Internet portal Livedoor Co, the Mainichi newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information. Fuji TV, which is competing with Livedoor for the control of Nippon Broadcasting System Inc, may sell about ?100 billion (US$955 million) worth of new shares, the report said. Nippon Broadcasting is the biggest shareholder in Fuji TV, with a 22.5 percent stake. Livedoor is likely to buy more Fuji shares if the Tokyo High Court upholds a lower court's injection against Nippon Broadcasting's planned sale of stock options to Fuji TV, the newspaper said.
■ Korean Economy
Small firms to get loans
Korea Development Bank, the nation's largest state-owned lender to companies, said it will offer 5 trillion won (US$5 billion) in loans this year to smaller companies. The Seoul-based lender plans to boost new lending to smaller companies by 20 percent from last year, which will bring up outstanding loans to these customers to 15.5 trillion won at the end of this year, Korea Development said today in an e-mailed statement. State banks are extending loans to smaller companies to help them weather the impact of the sluggish domestic consumption and the won's rapid appreciation at a time when Kookmin Bank and other commercial lenders have capped or tightened loans to them to cap default risks.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday said that China using armed force against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, allowing the country to mobilize the Japanese armed forces under its security laws. Takaichi made the remarks during a parliamentary session while responding to a question about whether a "Taiwan contingency" involving a Chinese naval blockade would qualify as a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, according to a report by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun. "If warships are used and other armed actions are involved, I believe this could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi was quoted as saying in the report. Under Japan’s security legislation,
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