■ Steel
Arcelor, Mittal to meet
Arcelor SA said yesterday that it would meet rival Mittal Steel Co "in the coming days" to discuss the details of Mittal's 25.8 billion euro (US$33 billion) bid. The Luxembourg-based firm said it could now meet Mittal because it had received a standalone business plan from the company last Friday. "Arcelor has identified a number of questions related to the business plan and has requested a meeting for the purpose of seeking answers to these questions," it said in a statement. "The receipt of this business plan had been an outstanding request in order for Arcelor to evaluate the unsolicited offer made by Mittal Steel." Mittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal had sought a meeting earlier, explaining that the company could not hand over further details until it had won antitrust clearance for EU regulators. EU approval came through on Friday and that evening Mittal handed the plan to Arcelor.
■ Economies
Changing roles at IMF
Asian nations that are under-represented at the IMF should gain a greater say in decision-making depending on their economic clout, IMF deputy chief Anne Krueger said. Countries such as China and South Korea should also see an automatic increase in their voting shares at the IMF if their economies continue to strengthen, the Financial Times quoted her as saying in a report out of Tokyo. In April the IMF took a first step toward heeding a call by emerging powers for a stronger voice in its decision-making and said it would come up with concrete proposals on voting reform by a September gathering in Singapore. "We hope to have a proposal to do some things immediately, and perhaps a road map of how to go further, by the time of the Singaporean meetings," Krueger was quoted as saying by the London-based business daily.
■ Internet
Yahoo buys Gmarket stake
Yahoo Inc agreed to buy a 10 percent stake in South Korean online auctioneer Gmarket Inc as it seeks to expand its e-commerce operations in Asia. Terms weren't disclosed. Oak Investment Partners LP, the only "significant" outside institutional investor in Gmarket, is selling the stake, Gmarket and Yahoo said yesterday in a statement. Closely held Gmarket plans to sell shares in the US, Yahoo spokeswoman Helena Maus said. Gmarket and Yahoo will work together in Korea and abroad, Gmarket chief executive officer Young Bae-ku said in the statement. Gmarket is the top Web auctioneer in South Korea, while Yahoo holds that spot in Japan and Taiwan, Maus said.
■ Entertainment
Nintendo plans release date
Nintendo Co will announce the release date and price for its new family video-game console Wii by September, company president Satoru Iwata said yesterday. Iwata said the company plans to supply more than 2.2 million hand-held DS Lite machines per month worldwide by this summer. Late last month, Nintendo announced that Wii won't sell for more than ¥25,000 (US$220) in Japan or US$250 in the US. That's a lot cheaper than the price announced for Sony's PlayStation 3, which is set to go on sale in November for US$499 and US$599 in the US and ¥59,800 and a more expensive but undisclosed price for the higher-end version in Japan. Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360, which went on sale late last year, sells for US$299.99 and US$399.99 in the US and ¥37,900 in Japan.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
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