■ Energy
Moscow reconsiders PSAs
Russia may cancel the licenses of three foreign companies with production sharing agreements (PSAs) to develop oil and gas fields for not fulfilling the terms of the agreements, the ministry of natural resources said yesterday. "At the present time, not one technical project has been carried out at any of the three Russian PSAs," which is one of two terms under which the agreements can be canceled,ministry director of government policy Sergei Fyodorov said. The three companies currently holding PSAs are US ExxonMobil and British-Dutch Shell, which have agreements to develop offshore oil and gas fields at the far eastern Sakhalin Island, and France's Total, which has a PSA for the northern Kharyaginsk oil field.
■ Electronics
Samsung predicts big sales
Samsung Electronics Co said sales of its semiconductors for games and graphic design will exceed 1 trillion won (US$1.05 billion) this year. The company forecast total revenue from its semiconductor division will reach US$40 billion in 2010, Choi Hae-won, a Samsung Electronics spokeswoman said yesterday. Choi confirmed details in a Korea Economic Daily report that said the company forecast memory-chip sales for games and graphics this year would reach 1 trillion won, and an article in the Dong-a Ilbo, which said revenue at the semiconductor unit would reach US$40 billion in 2010. Both reports cited interviews with Samsung president Hwang Chang-gyu. Sales of dynamic random access memory chips will be driven mainly by demand for digital televisions, games and mobile phones, the Korea Economic Daily reported, citing Hwang. The demand will probably continue until 2008 because personal-computer makers are also increasing output ahead of Microsoft Corp's release of its new Windows Vista operating system, the newspaper said.
■ Aerospace
Boeing buys Huneed stake
US aerospace giant Boeing has acquired a 16.93 percent stake in South Korean defense firm Huneed Technologies for US$20 million, both companies said yesterday. Boeing's purchase of 16.5 million new common shares in Huneed was agreed late last month and completed with regulatory approval on Friday, they said in a statement. Huneed is a leading supplier of communications network systems for South Korea's military. It said the deal will help it build up its expertise in areas including command, control, communications and networks. Boeing and Huneed have also signed a 10-year partnership agreement.
■ Auto industry
Scania rejects takeover bid
Swedish truckmaker Scania AB yesterday rejected a 9.6 billion euro (US$12.2 billion) cash and stock takeover offer from Germany's MAN AG. The board "unanimously decided not to support the proposals outlined," Scania said in a statement. MAN, Europe's third-largest truckmaker, offered 0.151 new shares and 38.35 euros in cash per Scania share, valuing the company at 48 euros per share. The offer represents a premium of 39 percent and 36 percent for each Scania class A and B share respectively, based on the three-month weighted average price up to Sept. 11. MAN said it would pay for the cash part of the deal from cash reserves and a credit facility. A tie-up would create a challenger to Volvo and DaimlerChrysler in the commercial vehicles market.
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
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
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that China has “no right to represent Taiwan,” but stressed that the nation was willing to work with Beijing on issues of mutual interest. “The Republic of China has already put down roots in Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu,” Lai said in his first Double Ten National Day address outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei. “And the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are not subordinate to each other.” “The People’s Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan,” he said at the event marking the 113th National Day of
RSS