■ Automobiles
DaimlerChrysler opens plant
DaimlerChrysler AG yesterday formally opened its first factory in China, where it will make Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler sedans, joining a rush of foreign automakers scrambling to gain a foothold in China's booming car market. DaimlerChrysler said the factory in suburban Beijing is part of a US$1.9 billion investment in China. DaimlerChrysler Chairman Dieter Zetsche said the company plans to expand its financing business and is talking to potential Chinese partners about possibly producing a lower-cost model to be sold in the US under the Dodge brand.
■ Economics
Remittance figure rises
Remittances from the Philippines' large overseas work force rose 15.8 percent from a year earlier to US$7 billion in the first seven months of this year, the central bank said yesterday. The central bank figure does not include money sent through informal channels by the more than eight million Filipinos -- a tenth of the population -- working in various parts of the world. The upturn was attributed to "rising demand for Filipino workers" and the increased access of such workers to the services of commercial banks and private remittance agents, the bank said in a statement.
■ Electronics
Deal ends Toshiba battle
Toshiba Corp has settled an intellectual property dispute over memory chips and cards with US semiconductor maker Micron Technology, the two companies announced yesterday. The deal ends a prolonged legal battle over trade secrets for flash memory chips and cards with Lexar Media Inc, which was acquired by Micron earlier this year. Lexar had demanded that Toshiba halt the import of the chips and cards, which the US company claimed infringed on its intellectual property rights. Toshiba will purchase some of Micron's semiconductor technology patents and also license patents previously owned by Lexar for US$288 million, according to a joint statement released yesterday.
■ Oil
Petrobras eyes firm
Brazilian state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) is in talks to buy a Japanese refiner affiliated with US oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp, a Japanese business newspaper reported yesterday. Petrobras is aiming to expand in the booming Asian oil market by purchasing Nansei Sekiyu KK, owned 87.5 percent by TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK, a unit of Exxon Mobil, the Nihon Keizai reported. The rest of Nansei Sekiyu is owned by trading company Sumitomo Corp. If Petrobras completes the deal, it would become the first oil producing nation to own a refinery station in Japan.
■ Oil
BP seeks to test pipeline
Oil giant BP PLC has asked permission from the US Department of Transportation to resume production on the eastern half of Prudhoe Bay so it can perform pipeline tests. London-based BP submitted the application on Wednesday, saying it wants production restarted on the field so it can conduct more thorough tests -- using so-called cleaning and inspection ``pig'' devices -- on the eastern transit line to determine if it can be used to move oil to the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. The eastern half of Prudhoe Bay was closed last month over fears of leaks and corrosion, cutting production from the US' largest oil field by about half.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
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