■ Computers
Hynix invests in China
Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's second-largest maker of computer memory chips, said it plans to spend 196.5 billion won (US$200 million) on a chip-making venture in China with STMicroelectronics NV. Hynix plans to invest the amount for 67 percent of Hynix-ST Semiconductor Ltd, Ichon, South Korea-based Hynix said in a regulatory filing in Seoul yesterday. Combined with STMicro's purchase of the remaining stake, the total equity investment in the venture will probably be 351 billion won, the statement said. The two companies, which will build the memory-chip plant in Wuxi, eastern China, said in 2004 that the total equity investment would amount to about US$375 million. Hynix and STMicro are betting on a growing appetite for chips from Chinese companies such as Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想).
■ Economy
Japanese figures revised
The Japanese economy's strong growth in the fourth quarter of last year was yesterday revised down a notch to 1.3 percent, or 5.4 percent in annualized terms, the Cabinet Office said. The performance by the world's second largest economy, which has been in the doldrums for much of the past decade, is still nearly five times faster than the US, which saw 1.1 percent annualized growth in the same period. The figures have raised hopes that Japan has come definitively out of its slump. Last week, the Bank of Japan ended its unusual five-year emergency policy of flooding the financial system with cash to provide virtually free credit. The government had originally estimated 1.4 percent growth for the October to December quarter or 5.5 percent on an annualized basis.
■ Retail
Department stores sold
Australia's largest retailer, Coles Myer Ltd, announced yesterday it is selling its Myer department store chain to investment group Newbridge Capital and a company run by the Myer family for A$1.4 billion (US$1 billion). The sale of the chain of 61 Myer stores is expected to be complete in the coming months, said Coles Myer chairman Rick Allert. Allert said the decision to sell the Myer stores was driven by the Coles Myer board's belief the company's food and liquor business and Myer will perform better separately.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Merck makes bid for rival
German drug and chemical maker Merck KGaA has made a cash bid for the takeover of domestic rival Schering AG in a multibillion euro deal, Schering said on Sunday. In a brief statement, Schering AG said it had received an offer of 77 euros (US$91.78) per share from Merck KGaA. "After the information about the approach became public, the executive board of Schering AG stated that this offer significantly undervalues Schering and its prospects as an independent specialized pharmaceutical company," Schering said. Though Schering did not term the bid hostile, it said the company "also confirmed the approach is unsolicited and that no negotiations are ongoing with Merck KGaA." According to an online report in Manager-Magazin.de, the approximately 130 Merck family members who own 73 percent of the company would float 20 percent of their shares on the stock exchange and use the proceeds plus 2 billion euros in cash in the bid for Berlin-based Schering.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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