■ Gambling
Sands bets on Asia
Las Vegas Sands will double its investment in casinos in Macau, spending more than US$8 billion there and on a nearby island over the next four to six years, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Bill Weidner, Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer, told the newspaper that the development opportunities were contingent upon approvals by the territory and will occur in phases over time. He said the US company's total investments and turnover would triple as a result of its initiatives in Asia. "Most of the company's investments and revenues will be in Asia," he was quoted as saying. In Macau, the company plans to spend US$3 billion each in two phases on the Cotai Strip and is also in talks to develop nearby Heng Qin island, the report said. In May, the US gaming operator won the bid to invest more than US$3.18 billion in a casino resort in Singapore, making it one of the most expensive projects of its kind in the world. The casino is due to open in 2009.
■ Paper
Hokuetsu wants Mitsubishi
Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd yesterday rejected a takeover bid from Oji Paper Co that would reportedly have created the world's fifth-biggest paper maker. Hokuetsu said it will instead go ahead with a planned tie-up with Mitsubishi Corp, a deal that involves issuing shares to Mitsubishi to earn funds for capital investment and expansion. Oji, Japan's No. 1 paper producer, announced on Sunday a plan to conduct a tender offer bid for at least 50.1 percent of Hokuetsu and consolidate their operations, on the condition that Hokuetsu cancels its plan to issue new shares to Mitsubishi. The proposed takeover would have created the world's fifth-biggest paper maker, with annual sales of around ¥1.36 trillion (US$11.7 billion), the Nihon Keizai Shimbun earlier reported. Under Oji's proposal, it would pay ¥860 per Hokuetsu share, a premium of about 35 percent above Hokuetsu's closing price on Friday. Mitsubishi Corp said Friday it would invest ¥30.35 billion in Hokuetsu to help it bolster an existing plant in Niigata, northern Japan.
■ Telecoms
Yellow pages for sale
French telecommunications giant France Telecom SA said yesterday that it is in talks with investment fund Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts & Co Ltd (KKR) to sell its 54 percent stake in yellow pages service PagesJaunes. KKR's bid values PagesJaunes at 22 euro (US$27.90) per share, or 3.3 billion euro for France Telecom's stake, the French company said in a statement. The private equity fund plans to launch a buy-out offer for the remaining shares in PagesJaunes, based in Sevres, France. Such funds normally seek complete control, making it easier for them to restructure the company before reselling it. France Telecom also said that it agreed to sell its satellite services unit France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications SA to private-equity fund Apax Partner for 60 million euros.
■ Collectables
Hello Kitty plays guitar
Hello Kitty fans in Japan now have a chance to purchase a Fender electric guitar decorated with the world's most famous cat. The Hello Kitty Stratocaster is one of three in the world. The other two were sold in the US, Sanrio Co, said yesterday. The sparkling black guitar embedded with the classic Hello Kitty face is to be priced at ¥2.52 million (US$22,000). The guitar goes on sale today at the Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
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