■ Oil
Shanghai exchange reopens
The Shanghai Petroleum Exchange resumed business yesterday after a 12-year hiatus, a step toward the eventual lifting of domestic controls on gas and oil prices. The limited reopening of spot trading in oil products is intended to help China's state-run petroleum companies familiarize themselves with the international market, state media reported. The exchange plans to later begin trading of other petroleum and chemical products, including crude oil, natural gas and liquefied gas. The petroleum exchange was first set up in 1993 but was closed a year later when the government clamped down on speculative trading.
■ Aviation
Air China shares drop
Shares in China's flag carrier, Air China Ltd (中國民航), opened 0.7 percent down from their initial public offering price yesterday, reflecting the dismal outlook for airline earnings due to high fuel prices, analysts said. State-owned Air China's initial performance compared with 50 percent to 80 percent gains typical of most IPO debuts. Earlier this month, the company cut the number of shares it was issuing by nearly 40 percent due to weak demand. The airline raised up to 4.6 billion yuan (US$575 million) in the IPO this month on the Shanghai exchange, issuing 1.639 billion shares at 2.80 yuan each.
■ Internet
Warner mulls YouTube deal
US recording label Warner Music said on Thursday it was in talks with the phenomenally popular Internet site YouTube to post its artists' song videos online. "I can confirm that we are having discussions with YouTube," Warner Music spokeswoman Amanda Collins said, declining to give any further details. The Wall Street Journal said that major labels Universal Music, EMI and Warner Music were all exploring "possible arrangements with YouTube." Britain's EMI is discussing "a variety of different business models" about distributing its music content via the site, the newspaper quoted a spokesman for the London-based company as saying.
■ Automobiles
Hyundai denies Jag interest
Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's largest automaker, said yesterday it has no interest in acquiring Ford Motor Co's luxury Jaguar brand. In a statement, Hyundai said it once studied the acquisition of a "luxury nameplate like Jaguar, but that option was dropped in view of our immediate priorities," described as expanding production at overseas plants. Though Ford says it has no plans to sell any of its brands, industry analysts have speculated that the No. 2 US automaker may be forced to act to stem red ink.
■ Internet
Google to power China.com
Google technology will power China.com's online search engine under the terms of a partnership announced on Thursday. In Google's most comprehensive business alliance since entering the China market, it will support China.com searches for online content in English and traditional Chinese, the companies said in a release. "We are excited about our partnership with China.com and we expect our current partnership to bring significant strategic benefits. We are also looking forward to exploring further areas where our companies can cooperate," said Johnny Chou (周韶寧), Google president of sales and business development in Greater China.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu