■ Mobile phones
Three firms in venture
NEC, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Texas Instruments said yesterday that they had set up a joint venture to develop mobile phone operations. Adcore-Tech, based in Yokosuka, southwest of Tokyo, is capitalized at ¥12 billion (US$104 million) with some 180 employees, the companies said in a joint statement. The firm is 44 percent controlled by the NEC group, while Matsushita -- best known for its Panasonic brand -- and its mobile phone unit jointly own another 44 percent. The remaining 12 percent is held by Texas Instruments. The venture is based on their agreement last month to jointly develop handsets and a common software and hardware platform.
■ Auto industry
AB Volvo plans acquisitions
AB Volvo, the world's second-largest truck maker after DaimlerChrysler AG, has outlined ambitious plans for a series of acquisitions to broaden its product range, according to a published report on Sunday. "Given our growth target of 10 percent, to do that wholly organically is almost impossible. A significant part of that will come from acquisitions," said Leif Johansson, chief executive, the Financial Times reported, citing an interview in an article on its Web site. The company is also in discussions with Dongfeng, the Chinese truck maker, about a possible alliance. "We are discussing doing something bigger in China," Johansson said. He will also consider acquiring a truck maker in Russia if the right deal can be reached.
■ Technology
China plans TV standard
Chinese regulators will soon announce a digital TV standard for the world's biggest television market, a state news agency reported yesterday. The system will apply to terrestrial, satellite and cable broadcasts in China, the Xinhua news agency said, citing Wang Xiaojie (王效傑), director of the technology department of State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The government has said that it would start rolling out digital television this year. China has about 400 million television viewers, according to industry estimates. It is also one of the leading producers of digital television sets. China already has 4.13 million households that receive digital pay-TV channels, and companies that serve them will be required to switch to the new standard, Xinhua said. The country has more than 120 licensed pay television channels, according to the government.
■ Telecoms
Telstra sale under review
Australia's Cabinet will discuss this week whether to proceed with the country's largest-ever privatization by selling the government's stake in Telstra Corp now that the firm's share price has dropped, Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday. Legislation to sell the government's 51.8 percent shareholding in the telecommunications company passed the Senate by a narrow margin last September. The sale was then expected to make A$30 billion (US$23 billion), but the share price has since slumped about 21 percent. Telstra shares fell to A$3.51 yesterday after the company downgraded its full-year earnings guidance, down from A$4.44 on the day the legislation was passed nearly a year ago. Telstra blamed the downgrade on the national competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which sets the prices the company can charge its competitors to share its national infrastructure.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
STAY WARM: Sixty-three nontraumatic incidents of OHCA were reported on Feb. 1, the most for a single day this year, the National Fire Agency said A total of 415 cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) occurred this month as of Saturday, data from the National Fire Agency showed as doctors advised people to stay warm amid cold weather, particularly people with cardiovascular disease. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a low temperature warning nationwide except for Penghu County, anticipating sustained lows of 10°C or a dip to below 6°C in Nantou, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as areas north of Yunlin County. The coldest temperature recorded in flat areas of Taiwan proper yesterday morning was 6.4°C in New Taipei City’s Shiding District (石碇). Sixty-three nontraumatic OHCA
COMMITTED: Lai said that Taiwan deeply appreciated the leaders’ statement, adding that the nation would remain steadfast in working to advance regional peace and prosperity US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait in a joint statement issued after they met in Washington for their first official meeting. Trump and Ishiba “affirmed their determination to pursue a new golden age for US-Japan relations that upholds a free and open Indo-Pacific and brings peace and prosperity to a violent and disorderly world,” the US-Japan Joint Leaders’ Statement said. “The two leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the