■ Energy
Mitsubishi goes nuclear
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has offered to buy US nuclear-reactor maker Westinghouse, moving in on a company that 40 years ago provided the Japanese machinery maker with its technology, a Mitsubishi official said. Mitsubishi Heavy told British company BNFL, which owns Westinghouse Electric Co, on Friday that it wants to buy the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company, according to spokesman Hideo Ikuno. Mitsubishi is still working on details of a bid including how much it will propose to pay and if it should form a partnership with other companies in the bidding, he said. The business daily Nihon Keizai newspaper said on Saturday that the two sides are aiming at concluding a deal -- estimated at ¥200 billion (US$1.79 billion) -- later this year.
■ Aviation
Jetstar, Valuair cut talks
Singapore's low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia and Valuair Ltd said yesterday they have called off possible merger talks -- in what would have been the first consolidation in Asia's cutthroat budget airline industry. "In the airline industry, you can grow organically or through acquisitions. The Valuair opportunity gave us the chance to do both at the same time," Jetstar chief executive Ken Ryan said in a statement. "It would have been good if we were able to reach agreement, but the fact that we didn't doesn't impact our ongoing business expansion." It was not immediately clear why the airlines were considering integration but analysts have said carriers are suffering because of soaring jet fuel prices, now well above US$60 a barrel.
■ The Philippines
Debt rating cut to negative
The Philippines' debt-rating outlook was cut to negative from stable by Fitch Ratings, which cited political concerns and a court freeze on increases in the size and scope of the nation's sales tax. The cut comes 46 days after the outlook was raised and suggests Fitch is more inclined to lower the Philippines' long-term foreign-currency rating of BB and local-currency rating of BB+. Both ratings are junk grade. "The outlook reflects both the heightened political uncertainty in the Philippines and the challenges in the Supreme Court to the expanded value-added-tax," Fitch said in a statement yesterday. The government said the move, which comes 46 days after Fitch raised its rating outlook, wouldn't affect its overseas borrowing plans.
■ Photography
Kodak makes digital chip
Eastman Kodak Co, the world's largest photography company, said it has developed along with International Business Machines Corp (IBM) computer chips that improve the images of lower-priced digital cameras and cellphones. The new sensors, which convert light into electric signals, are derived from complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, technology. They close the gap between CMOS sensors used in mass-market cameras and higher-quality charge-coupled devices. Kodak hopes designers and manufacturers of cellphones and mass-market cameras will build the new chips into their products. To make that feasible, Kodak announced on Friday that it has formed an alliance with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world's largest supplier of made-to-order chips.
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
SPEECH IMPEDIMENT? The state department said that using routine celebrations or public remarks as a pretext for provocation would undermine peace and stability Beijing’s expected use of President William Lai’s (賴清德) Double Ten National Day speech today as a pretext for provocative measures would undermine peace and stability, the US Department of State said on Tuesday. Taiwanese officials have said that China is likely to launch military drills near Taiwan in response to Lai’s speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims. A state department spokesperson said it could not speculate on what China would or would not do. “However, it is worth emphasizing that using routine annual celebrations or public remarks as a pretext or excuse for provocative or coercive
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