■ Technology
EBay's results disappoint
Online auctioneer eBay Inc said on Wednesday its quarterly profit increased by 36 percent, disappointing investors. In a statement, the San Jose, California-based company said its fourth quarter consolidated net income increased 36 percent to US$279.2 million, or US$0.20 a share, from US$205.4 million, or US$0.15 a share, a year ago. Revenue grew by 42 per cent to US$1.3 billion, the company added. "Q4 capped off a remarkable year for eBay," said eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman in a statement. The company said it had 180.6 million confirmed registered users at the end of the fourth quarter, a 33 percent increase over the 135.5 million users reported a year earlier.
■ Auto industry
Mercedes' China sales jump
DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest carmaker, said sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand rose 39 percent in China last year, as increasing affluence spurred more people to buy S-Class luxury cars. The company sold 16,128 Mercedes cars to consumers in China last year, the Stuttgart, Germany-based company said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Sales by the Chrysler Group rose 5 percent to 30,394 units last year. "This year DaimlerChrysler will launch several new models from Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and Jeep in the region, where we continue to see tremendous growth potential," said Till Becker, chairman and chief executive officer of DaimlerChrysler in northeast Asia. DaimlerChrysler's sales in the northeast Asia region including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea increased 15 percent last year to 58,245 units.
■ Logistics
New port opens in Busan
South Korea yesterday opened a new cargo port in the city of Busan, stepping up a regional race to become the leading shipping hub in Asia. South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun attended the opening and vowed to turn the new port into "a logistics hub for Northeast Asia" in a televised speech at the opening ceremony near Busan, 450km southeast of Seoul. The new port has three container berths initially, growing to 30 berths capable of handling 8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year by 2011. The new port sits between Busan, the world's fifth-largest container port with 21 berths, and the neighboring port of Jinhae on the southern coast. "Let's work together to make it successful. Let's realize our dream of creating a logistics hub in Northeast Asia," Roh said.
■ Corruption
D'Long founder's trial starts
Tang Wanxin (唐萬新), a businessman whose conglomerate once was China's biggest stockholder went on trial yesterday in central China on charges of alleged illegal banking and share price manipulation, state media reported. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, D'Long (德隆), founded by Tang, allegedly amassed more than 45 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion) in deposits by illegally offering guarantees to its clients. The China Business News said Tang had pleaded innocent to the charge he illegally took public deposits, or engaged in illegal banking, an offense with a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. However, he did not contest the lesser charge of stock price manipulation, which carries a maximum sentence of five years, it said.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
Taiwanese trade negotiators told Washington that Taipei would not relocate 40 percent of its semiconductor production to the US, and that its most advanced technologies would remain in the nation, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said on Sunday. “I told the US side very clearly — that’s impossible,” Cheng, who led the negotiation team, said in an interview that aired on Sunday night on Chinese Television System. Cheng was referring to remarks last month by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in which he said his goal was to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to the US Taiwan’s almost
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